Packaged foods — instant noodles, biscuits, namkeen, juices, breakfast cereals — are convenient, and most of us eat some every week. The nutrition label on the pack tells you a lot about them, once you know where to look.
1. Start with the serving size
Every number on the label is for one serving — and the serving is often smaller than what people actually eat. A packet of biscuits may list values for “3 biscuits”. If you eat 6, double everything.
2. Check the sugar
The World Health Organization recommends keeping free sugars — sugar added to food and drinks, plus the sugar in honey, syrups and fruit juice — to less than 10% of daily energy, and suggests that below 5% brings further benefits.
- Sweet drinks, packaged juices, flavoured milk and energy drinks are some of the biggest sources.
- Look for sugar under other names in the ingredients: glucose, sucrose, fructose, corn syrup, invert sugar, malt.
- Ingredients are listed from most to least — if sugar is near the top, it’s a big part of the product.
3. Check the salt (sodium)
The WHO recommends adults eat less than 5 grams of salt a day — about one level teaspoon, in total, from everything you eat. Instant noodles with their seasoning sachet, namkeen, chips, pickles and processed meats can use up a large part of that in one go.
- Some labels give sodium instead of salt. Salt is roughly 2.5 times the sodium figure.
- With instant noodles, using only half the seasoning sachet is an easy way to cut salt.
4. Look at the fat
Check total fat and, where listed, saturated fat. Fried snacks and many biscuits are high in both. Watch out for “partially hydrogenated oil” in the ingredients — it can be a source of trans fat, which is best avoided.
5. Don’t trust the front of the pack alone
Words like “natural”, “multigrain”, “lite” or “no added sugar” are marketing. A “multigrain” biscuit can still be high in sugar and fat. The label on the back gives the real picture.
Quick habit: compare two similar products in the shop and pick the one with less sugar and salt per 100 g.
Fresh food first
The simplest way to eat less hidden sugar and salt is to make most of your meals from fresh food — dal, rice, roti, vegetables, fruit, eggs, curd — and keep packaged foods as an occasional extra. If you have high blood pressure, diabetes or another condition, a dietitian can help you set limits that suit you.