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Supermarket Lingo

By Kylie Andrew (Dietitian)

With so much information being offered to us regarding diet and nutrition and what to eat, what not to eat, how much to eat and of course, when to eat it, you can excused for being a little confused at times.

I’ve outlined a few key items that you might like to consider when next going to the supermarket or thinking about preparing your next meal.

Glycemic index
Some foods release glucose into the bloodstream more quickly than others - those that produce a lower and slower rise in blood glucose levels are described as having a low glycemic index (GI).

The Glycemic Index is a measurement (from 1 to 100) of how much glucose a carbohydrate produces in the bloodstream, two hours after it has been eaten. Therefore weight loss is best when a digested food produces a low level of blood glucose.

Low GI foods include:

• Dried peas and beans - for example kidney beans, haricot beans, chickpeas and baked beans.
• Bread - especially pumpernickel, heavy wholegrain and heavy fruit breads.
• Wholegrain cereals - such as rolled oats, untoasted muesli, barley bran, rice bran and oat bran.
• Spaghetti and pasta.
• All fruit - especially apples, pears, oranges, grapes, cherries, grapefruit, peaches, plums, kiwi fruit and firm bananas.
• Grains - such as barley, buckwheat and bulgur.
• Rice - especially basmati and doongara.

Whilst the term Glycemic Index is a very popular dietary term, mostly amongst food manufacturers, there exists no evidence to date to suggest that low GI foods alone assist in long term weight loss, because this term does not take into consideration the energy content of food.

For example the GI of potato is 85, with 256kJ and zero fat per 100g, compared to the same quantity of cheese which has a low GI of zero but 1570 kJ’s and 32 grams of fat. Therefore, always consider the list of ingredients and the energy (calorie or kilojoule) content of foods before you purchase.

Light Foods
The term 'light' or 'lite' doesn't necessarily mean that the product is low in fat or energy.
The term 'light' may refer to the texture, colour or taste of the product. This term has been used to entice the consumer to purchase what they believe is a healthier or more low fat product to the standard range, however there does not need to be any evidence to prove this on the packaging. The characteristic however, that makes the food 'light' must be stated on the label.

Fat Free
For a product to be able to label itself as fat free, it must contain less than 0.15 per cent fat. Low fat foodstuffs on the other hand must contain less than 3 per cent fat for solid foods (1.5 per cent for liquid foods).

Energy density index (EDI)
The EDI analyses all foods according to the energy they contain, collectively considering the energy of foods in kilojoules of each macronutrient; fat, protein, carbohydrate and alcohol.
You can consider the energy density of foods yourself by calculating the size of your food by the amount of macronutrient and by the amount of energy per gram each macronutrient contains. For example 100g of cheese contains 32.4g of fat, 20.4g of carbohydrate/protein to total 1570 kJ, whilst 100g of chocolate contains 32.4g of fat, 61.6g of carbohydrate/protein to total 2260 kJ.

Used By Dates
The 'use by' or 'best before' date means that food stored in the recommended way will remain of good quality until that date. However, these terms are not interchangeable. For example, it may be safe to eat foods after their 'best before' date, but they may have lost quality and some nutritional value.
Foods with a shelf life of less than two years must have a 'best before' date. After the 'best before' date, some of the quality of the food may be reduced. Foods that should not be consumed after a certain date for health and safety reasons must have a 'use by' date and cannot be sold after that date. You will find 'use by' dates on perishables such as meat, fish and dairy products.

Total fats, saturated fats and sugars:
The Nutrition Information Panel on foods (NIP) currently provides information on kilojoules, protein, total fat, total carbohydrates and sodium. Under the food laws, NIPs must list saturated fat and sugar separately to total fat and total carbohydrate. Cholesterol content does not have to be listed unless a claim is made.
Listing saturated fat on the NIP will help consumers decide whether a food product may affect their blood cholesterol levels. Saturated fat has a more significant effect on blood cholesterol levels than mono or polyunsaturated fats. It is generally present in higher amounts in animal-based products, but it is also found in non-animal-based foods, such as commercial biscuits and cakes which contain hydrogenated vegetable oil (often listed as vegetable fat or shortening).

Consumers can also decide whether or not the sugar content of a food is too high for their particular diet when reading labels that specify the amount of sugar as distinct from total carbohydrates.