You know the sayings, “you are what you eat” and “abs are made in the gym and revealed in the kitchen?” Well, it’s difficult for people to realize what they are truly eating, or cooking up in the kitchen, if they don’t understand how their food is produced. Many of the so-called “healthy foods” at local grocery stores are nutritionally deficient and full of chemicals, pesticides, and additives that disrupt your hormonal balance. Even though corporations and lobbyists don't want consumers knowing what's in their food or how their food is produced, we need more transparent foods labels so people know what they are putting in their bodies. As a customer you’re paying for this product. Therefore, you have the right to know if it’s a good long-term investment.
A food label is defined as a source of advertising a food product. Manufacturers attempt to make their food product label as attractive as possible by using bright colors, bold text, food claims, and a lot of information. While too much information on a food label might cause painful headaches for consumers; it's all worth it due to many health and nutrition problems one may contract by eating this product. By law, manufacturers must abide by the standard code terms of what is put on their food label. “The Nutrition Education and Labeling Act of 1990 set the requirements for certain label information to ensure that food labels truthfully inform consumers about the nutrients and ingredients in the package” (Webb 51). In 2012, the FDA reviewed the details of the information, but in general, every packaged food must included: the common or usual name of the product, a barcode, the name and address of the manufacturer packer, or distributor, the net contents in terms of weight, m...
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...n electrical equipment because the labels are there for the consumer's own safety. Warning labels should be available in all foods so that consumers can get an accurate description of what they are buying and how it will affect their health, whether positively or negatively.
Food labeling can be misleading and confusing as you can see. Manufactures should put a stop to this and simplify and makeover, there labels for us consumers. I think it will help buyers understand what they're eating and trust the manufactures on what they're making for us. If more consumers find out what’s really in the food they’re eating and how food labels are not always exact they will stop buying their food. What’s the point of putting information labels if it’s not the truth. I hope Manufactures make a change in this and make it easy for us to understand and let us trust the labels more.
Videos slide The problem is, many brands are doing this – most companies are relying on these misleading assumptions to fool consumers and increase the revenue and brand recognition of their products, and making it look enticing to buy due to its possible health benefits However, the government does have a system to help stop this from happening, the health star rating system. The system, introduced two years ago, has a score out of 5 for packaged and processed goods (5 being the highest), considered ‘a quick way to compare the nutritional value of processed and packaged food’ and encouraging consumers to make healthier choices. Supporters of the health star system hoped it would encourage companies to make their food healthier, and this worked for some brands. Nutri-grain, for example, found that it had only 2 stars, primarily because a full third of it was sugar.
Companies nowadays are using different and strong methods in marketing their food products. The Companies are very competitive, and the results can affect the people. When we think about this job field, it is convincing that those producers should use cleverly ways to gain their own living. In the other side they shouldn’t use misleading ways that could harm the people. Food companies should be straightforward with every marketing method they use. People have the right to know what they are consuming and also to know the effects of these products on them, whether it is harmful, useful, or even neutral.
You’ll see most people do not read the labels of the food they are buying. This is because they don’t care, it takes time and people nowadays are very busy. Like Berry said, “they buy what they want-or what they have been persuaded to want-within the limits of what they can get.” People are accustomed to buying what they have been taught to buy by their parents or caretakers as they were growing up. We learn to eat what we have been given as children and we tend to follow that same pattern of eating, which, for most people, is what we can
Due to false advertising, I feel that certain food companies are being careless in trying to make people buy their products in order to make money in the quickest way possible. My only suggestions for this situation are either the companies to tell the truth about their products, or stop advertising completely. If the companies could spend more time researching the effects of their products, then they could make improvements to their foods or maybe find alternatives to the ingredients. That way people can make the right decisions in buying what is best for them and their children. Thank you for your time.
Pomeranz, Jennifer L. "A Comprehensive Strategy To Overhaul FDA Authority For Misleading Food Labels." American Journal Of Law & Medicine 39.4 (2013): 617-647. Academic Search Complete. Web. 4 Apr. 2014.
The act of manufactures labeling of our foods products in terms of the ingredients a particular product contains and the nutritious facts is sometimes taken for granted, we often see the labels on our food products, but ignore them because we’re so used to seeing them in our daily lives. Surprisingly, food product labeling, specifically that pertaining to allergen warnings, were not always available to consumers until a government mandate in 2004 (FALCPA). I think part of the reason for such a lateness in regulation was due to a social stigma regarding allergies, that having them was some sort of natural selection and not an issue that should be taken care of. Another surprising notion I came across was that although there was no government regulation, manufactures of food products took a good amount of initiative in letting their consumers know of potential allergens in their products.
Prepared foods aren’t covered under Food and Drug Administration labeling laws” (Zinczenko, 242). Although true, we do not need warning labels on unhealthy foods. Every single child in America is brought up in elementary school systems that have nutritional based classes. These children know from a young age that fast food is not good for you. They do not need a label to tell them something that they already know. Also, even if a label was to be put on these products, it would not change anything. People go into these places with the intent to eat and one label will not ultimately make them leave and go drive somewhere else since they are already at that
Consumers are now watching what they eat, and want to avoid products that contain ingredients that have become deemed as fattening.
First of all, warning labels are not effective due to the simple and unattractive pictorial designs. Existing warning labels have been around since 1984 and they now go unnoticed because of small print with a plane black and white text, while design of the packaging overwhelms the warning label. After so m...
...blic knowledge. It will enable consumers to make conscious decisions on the food they are serving to themselves and their families. Using labels that include scientific names of additives, but no additional information is confusing to consumers. Additives like BVO or GMO’s can have the potential for health problems for some individuals. If the FDA required proper labeling of these ingredients, people could make the choice themselves. It is misleading to not include any ingredient in a product.
More and More people are becoming concerned about what they eat, especially if they consume food products that are manufactured in food industries. However, it is hard to know what exactly you are consuming if food industries provide false nutrition content and mislead consumers by placing false advertisements on the packaging. When a company produces a product that contains misleading label, consumers are not receiving complete information about the food they are eating which could lead to health issues including allergies and problems with diabetes.
A food label is a source of advertising a food product. Manufacturers try their best to make their product food label as attractive as possible, by using bright colours, bold text, food claims, and a lot of information. Too much information on a food label might have caused a lot of painful headaches for consumers; but it's all worth it, due to many health and nutrition problems. By law, manufacturers must abide by the standard code terms of what is put on their food label. By this, a food label must have no false claims or information, be in English and legible and easy to see. Also must contain a barcode, name of food, list of ingredients in descending order of weight, net weight, any additives in the food, country of origin, use of imported ingredients, name and address of manufacturer, date marking and nutrition panel if any claims are made.
Food labelling laws make sure consumers get vital information about the foods they consume. Food businesses must label their food products legally and correctly. The overall aim of the food labelling regulations is to ensure that customers can make informed choices in relation to the food they consume, as well as to prevent any practices that may mislead the customer. It is required by law to have these items on labels:
People often take in information without thinking about what it means or how valid it is. People also tend to consume food and beverages without thinking where it came from or how it was produced. The well-known saying, “do not believe everything you see and hear” is something more people should consider more often when thinking about the production and consumption of food in America. The American public is misinformed on many topics in the food industry. This can be compared to the message that the book, Lies My Teacher Told Me, by James Loewen, delivers about how the public is deceived in regards to history. One specific food lie is how the Corn Refiners Association wants the public to believe that High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS) is the same as sugar and is perfectly healthy for consumption. As some research suggests, this is a faulty food assumption.
Furthermore, you feel confident in the decision you make. In the article "Mandatory Nutrition Labeling Will Help People Make Healthful Food Choices" Arsenault states, "Food labeling has given consumers more knowledge about the foods they eat and motivated some people, as various studies report, to opt for healthier food choices (Arsenault)." I agree with Arsenault because food labeling does give people more knowledge on what they are consuming. Food labeling motivates me to eat healthier because sometimes I want to eat unhealthy, but after viewing the nutrition label I make a healthier decision that betters my eating habit. Viewing a nutrition label can prevent obesity, diabetes, and even heart attacks. Nutrition labels give you insight on what is healthy for you and what is not healthy for you. In the article "Mandatory Labeling Of Food Products" Baum states, "It 's the responsibility of all of us in the food industry to supply information to help customers make intelligent choices about the food they put into their mouths; and we have to do that by providing general education about nutrition in a meaningful understandable way...and by providing information about specific foods (Baum)." I agree with Baum because people deserve to know what they 're eating. Looking at