
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: SATURDAY, July 14, 1990                   TAG: 9007140026
SECTION: EXTRA                    PAGE: E-6   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Short

LOOKING BEYOND FOOD LABEL HYPE

Uncle Sam is getting ready to crack down on misleading claims that appear on food labels. But consumers don't have to wait.

Better Homes and Gardens magazine tells how to look beyond the hype.

Study ingredient labels. Sugar can hide as dextrose, honey, molasses and corn syrup. Salt (actually, sodium) can be found in monosodium glutamate, sodium citrate, saccharine and sodium bicarbonate. Fats can be lurking in ingredients like milk, eggs, cream, nuts and cheese.

Keep an eye out especially for animal fats (butter, lard, beef fat, tallow) and tropical oils, such as palm or palm kernel oil or coconut oil. These and other so-called saturated fats are most closely associated with heart disease, so minimizing them is important.

Count calories from fat. If there are more than three grams of fat per 100 calories in frozen dinners, for example, watch out. The meal is more than 30 percent fat. (Note: This rule of thumb breaks down when there are just two or three grams of a nutrient present because of rounding errors.) When planning meals, balance high-fat products with low-fat foods.

Real labels skeptically. While nutritional claims such as "reduced calories" and "low sodium" have government-set definitions, many others -like "natural" and "light" - have no standardized meaning. Reduced-sodium soy sauce, for example, remains very high in sodium.

by CNB