First, Ignore the Front of the Pack
The front of a package is designed to sell, not to inform. Claims like “multigrain,” “baked, not fried,” “natural,” or “zero cholesterol” create a health halo, making a product seem healthier than it is. The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India
(FSSAI) has questioned the use of many of these terms because they can be misleading. A biscuit can be “multigrain” even if refined flour (maida) is the main ingredient, or a product can be “natural” and still be loaded with sugar and fat. The real, unbiased information is always on the back of the pack in the nutrition information panel and the ingredients list.
Master the Ingredients List
This is arguably the most important part of the label. Ingredients must be listed in descending order of weight. This means the first three ingredients make up the bulk of what you're eating. If you see sugar, maida, or palm oil listed first, you know the foundation of the snack is not health-focused. A shorter ingredient list is often a sign of a less processed food. Also, be aware of hidden sugars which go by many names like high-fructose corn syrup, dextrose, maltodextrin, or fruit juice concentrate. Food companies sometimes use several different types so that “sugar” doesn’t appear at the top of the list.
Decode the Nutrition Facts Table
The FSSAI mandates that all packaged foods display nutritional information per 100g or 100ml, and sometimes per serving. Always use the “per 100g” column for an easy way to compare different products. Pay close attention to a few key values. For sugars, anything over 15g per 100g is considered high. For sodium (salt), a product with more than 600mg per 100g is high in salt. The daily recommended limit for an adult is around 2000mg of sodium, which is about one teaspoon of salt. Also, check for saturated and trans fats; if you see “partially hydrogenated oil” in the ingredients, the product contains trans fat, even if the table says 0g.
Beware the Serving Size Trap
This is a common way consumers get misled. A manufacturer might list the calories and sugar for a serving size of 30g, but the packet you bought contains 100g. If you eat the whole packet, as many people do, you are consuming more than three times the calories, sugar, and fat shown in the “per serving” column. Always check the serving size and how many servings are in the container to understand how much you're actually eating.
Understand Health Claims Like 'No Added Sugar'
The claim “no added sugar” sounds healthy, but it can be deceptive. It simply means the manufacturer didn't add table sugar during processing. However, the product could still be very high in natural sugars from ingredients like fruit juice concentrate, honey, or dates, which your body processes in a similar way to regular sugar. A product labelled “sugar-free” is different; it must contain less than 0.5g of sugar per 100g. Likewise, products marketed as “low-fat” often compensate by adding extra sugar to improve the taste, making them not much healthier.
