Reading food labels

Nutrition information panels and ingredients lists are a good way of comparing similar foods so you can choose the healthiest option.

Heart-healthy eating patterns include plenty of fresh foods, many of which aren’t packaged or don’t have a food label. But in our busy lives, foods which are packaged (and often processed) can be quick, easy and healthy choices. When buying these foods, it’s helpful to read the food label to select the best choice.

Almost all packaged foods are required to display a Nutrition Information Panel (NIP) on the packet. The information included on the NIP must meet government standards, so you can be sure that the information is reliable.

Nutrition information panels and ingredients lists are a good way of comparing similar foods so you can choose the healthiest option.

How to read a food label

Follow these five steps to easily and quickly make healthier choices.  

Step 1: Find the nutrition information panel on the product 

The first step is to find the nutrition information panel. It’s usually located on the back or side of the product packaging. Once you’ve found the nutrition information panel, the next step is to locate the ingredients – often they’re to the side or below the nutritional panel.

Nutrition information panels always list:

• Energy (kilojoules)

• Protein

• Fat (total) 

• Saturated fat 

• Carbohydrate (total)

• Sugars

• Sodium

Other nutrients such as vitamins and minerals, fibre and other types of fat (unsaturated, trans, cholesterol) may also be listed.

Step 2. Think about which nutrients or ingredients you want to look for.  

This might be to assist in limiting added salt intake, or becoming more mindful about the ingredients in the products you regularly purchase. 

Nutrition Information Panels can include helpful information about nutrients like wholegrains and fibre, which can assist in making healthier choices. Along with nutrients like salt, saturated and trans fats, and sugar, which can assist in finding healthier options of your usual products.  

Step 3: Check the Ingredients List.

It will look something like this:  

• Wheat Flour, Sugar, Butter (Cream (From Milk), Salt), Vegetable Oil, Condensed Milk, Salt, Eggs, Baking Powder, Emulsifier (Soy Lecithin), Antioxidant (E307B From Soy).  

Ingredients are always listed from the largest quantity to smallest. If the first 3 ingredients are fat, salt or sugar, the product is not a healthy choice for your heart.    Sometimes nutrition panels use other names for fat, salt or added sugar such as:  

• Fat – animal fat, vegetable oil, vegetable fat, copha, palm oil, coconut oil.  

• Salt – sodium, monosodium glutamate, vegetable salt.  

• ​Sugar – glucose, golden syrup, honey, maple syrup, sucrose. 

The ingredients list can help you identify ingredients you may want to avoid (or include) in your eating pattern. The ingredients list will depend on the type of product. A highly processed product will have many ingredients, while a less processed product will have only a few ingredients.  Although sometimes processed products are helpful to include, in general choosing less processed products is better than highly processed products.

For example, the addition of preservatives can extend the shelf life of a product. A multigrain bread with some preservatives is likely to last longer than one without preservatives. This can be important for some households to include more wholegrains in their eating pattern. While a product that markets itself as ‘natural’ or ‘healthy’ might reveal an alphabet soup of ingredients included added sugars, salt and fats. This information helps you make an informed choice about whether to purchase this product, or not.

As a general rule, the ingredients list can help you identify ‘hidden’ ingredients. If the product has fat, salt or sugar in the first three ingredients and you didn’t expect them to be there, this should prompt you to pause and consider if there might be a healthier choice to make. See Step 3.  

Step 4:  Use the per 100g column to compare different brands of similar products.  

In the Nutrition Information Panel, there will be two columns of information. One is the ‘per serving’ and one is the ‘per 100g’. The quantity per 100g or ml column is best when comparing different brands of similar products.

You might find that one brand is healthier than another in terms of having more fibre, or less sodium (salt), less sugar or less saturated fat.

The 'per serving' column can help you to understand the amount of nutrients you might be eating when you serve out that specific portion of the food. It’s important to keep in mind that the ‘per serving’ value varies depending on the type of food and the brand. It doesn’t necessarily mean you eat the serve size specified on the pack.

It is usually more helpful to use the per 100g column rather than the per serving column to help choose the product that’s lowest in salt, saturated fat and sugar. Remember that salt is listed as ‘sodium’ on the label. 

Step 5: Keep the big (healthy!) picture in mind.

Remember to think about the food as a whole, rather than deciding if its healthy (or not) based on only one nutrient (like salt, fat or sugar). Our 5 easy steps to a Heart Healthy Eating Pattern can help you identify more of the healthy foods to include. 

Label reading for Heart Health 

For most people looking to make heart healthy choices, the Nutrition Information Panel is most useful to choose lower salt products, and identify products with saturated fat.

The following information provides more detail on using Food Labels to identify fat and salt in packaged foods.  

Fats

Use the per 100g or 100 ml column to compare similar products to choose the option with less saturated or trans fat – the unhealthy fats. Trans fat is often not listed on the nutrition information panel, which can make it hard to choose a healthy option.

Avoid foods with ‘partially hydrogenated’ vegetable oil or vegetable fat, animal fat, copha, palm oil and coconut oil listed in the ingredients list - these ingredients are high in saturated and/or trans fat. For example, it is advisable to limit intake of foods like bakery goods such as sausage rolls, meat pies, cakes and biscuits.

Learn more about adding healthy fats to your diet.

Sodium (salt)

When you read the Nutrition Information Panel (NIP), it’s important to remember that the salt content of the food product will be listed as ‘sodium’.

To compare the sodium content of two similar products, you should read the “Per 100g” column of the NIP.

To choose a ‘low salt’ food product, select one that has less than 120mg of sodium per 100g.

Remember, eating too much sodium can put you at risk of developing high blood pressure and heart disease, which is why it’s important to know how to read the NIP so you can choose a lower sodium product.

Check the ingredient list for other names for salt, such as sodium, monosodium glutamate, and vegetable salt.

Read more about salt and heart health and use our calculator to convert the sodium listed on food products into grams of salt or vice versa.

Looking for more information?

Looking for more information on making healthier choices? Check out our Heart Healthy Recipes and Meal Plans, or explore our information on Heart Healthy Eating Patterns.