Food Labling
After shopping exclusively in the United States for all of my life I did not realize how much I used the nutrition label until I couldn’t use them anymore. I used to just glanced at it without even noticing I was reading them. Then when I got to Amsterdam I realized the labels were not only in Dutch but also there seemed to be different information on it. I have been told by every health teacher that the way in which Americans focus on health and healthy food is completely wrong. This got me wondering, do the Dutch do it differently?
In the Netherlands there is a different way in which to label food. For packaged foods the packer is required to include:
-the product name
-name and address of the manufacturer or responsible entrepreneur
-the ingredients, including added water, aroma’s and
- e numbers (This is the list of additives found in the food)
-the net quantity
-quantities of ingredients in percentages
-nutritional value
-storage instructions and/or instructions for use (if necessary)
-a production code or batch code
-the minimum best-before date or last consumption date (use by date)
In many cases foods are also getting this Nutri-Score that allows consumers to quickly help consumers make a decision on the healthiness of the food item. This system scores items with an “A,B,C,D, or E” based on how healthy the item is. With A being the best and E being the worst. This can help consumers find healthy products at a glance.
There are also very strict rules against mislabeling. For example to include the term organic on the packaging if it meets all European and Dutch standards then gets approved by Skal Biocontrole. This list of requirements forces views to decide on a product based on the ingredients in the food.
In the United States manufacturers are required to include:
-Serving size (Consult the RACC to determine this)
-Household measure/common household unit
-Servings per container
-Mandatory nutrients
-total calories, total fat, saturated fat, trans fat, cholesterol, sodium, total carbohydrate, dietary fiber, total sugars, added sugars, protein, vitamin D, calcium, iron, potassium
-ingredients statement
As one can see the America ingredients statement is included but also in combination of many other details. This makes it much easier for manufacturers to manipulate the ingredients to change the above percentages and facts to sell the product better. Then while the product looks better and healthier it really has simply been enhanced with a number of additives.
The Netherlands simply lists ingredients as opposed to Americans’ view that focusing on the macro percentages seems to force individuals to make better choices based on ingredients not fat or carbohydrate content. These content percentages can be very misleading to the consumer because the overall perentage to the rest of the food is easy to manipulate. In the Netherlands where they use the overall grams in the product this makes it much easier to interpret the amount of a a particular macro that a person is eating. Many of the issues in American food come from the additivies that are llegal in the United States, yet are illegal in the Netherlands. The European Union has made steps to iradicate foods with additives that cause cancer. Yet in the United States many of these additives are still legal.
These issues with American packaging and dishonesty lead to many of the problems with obesity and other health problems in the United States. According to Oxfam the Netherlands is one the most affordable and easiest places to eat healthy while America ranks 21st. There are many ways in which Americans can improve their eating habits but it has been very enlightening to visit a place where the community makes good food such a priority.