Food labels should clearly and transparently inform, but when it comes to large retailers, sometimes, the opposite happens: the indications appear not very understandable, that remains are the promotional slogans, with very questionable words.
Case us congenial is that of jams and jams, where that now famous and inevitable “100% fruit” stands as much as I can, misleading promise of a product that of fruit, very often, sees really little. The reality hides good regulatory creativity, both interpretative and narrative, an aspect that can disorient the most attentive consumer, what he wants to know what is really buying, 100%.
The reference legislation
The legislative decree 20 February 2004 n ° 50, in implementation of the European directive 2001/113/EC, establishes precise definitions for jams, jams and compounds. The jam is specifically a citrus preservation, while the jams concern all the other fruits. The minimum fruit content must not be less than 20% in jams, not less than 35% in jams and at least 45% in extra jams.
The values just listed represent the minimum quantities mandatory by law, far from the suggestive “100%” which stands on almost all the packaging. The legislation also provides that “fruit used: x grams (g) per 100 grams (g)” is the compulsory indication to be reported on the label.
Food marketing strategies
Companies use different strategies to emphasize the fruit content in their products. Some recurring indications include:
“100% from fruit”: this wording does not mean that the product contains exclusively fruit, but that all the ingredients derive from fruit. Concentrated apple juice is used to sweeten the product and is a substitute for conventional sugar. A product may contain 55% of blueberries and 45% of concentrated apple juice and still report “100% fruit”.
“Without added sugars”: if the product does not contain any added sugar or any other food product used for its sweetening properties. This does not exclude the presence of sugars naturally present in fruit or the use of concentrated juices such as sweeteners.
“Only fruit sugars”: expression that can lead to thinking that the product is healthier, when in reality even in those called so sugar is added. Sugar deriving from fruit instead of cane or beetroot but always sugar is.
The importance of conscious reading
To orient themselves in this labyrinth of information, the consumer will have to develop, as a new student, some critical reading competence of the labels, a new frontier of modern literature. This is what must be looked at to understand what and how much you eat in terms of nutrients and calories, not the list of ingredients: the nutritional table provides objective data on the sugar content, regardless of their origin.
A product that declares “100% fruit” can contain up to 45% of total sugars, deriving from both fresh fruit and concentrated juices used as sweeteners. The nutritional difference compared to a traditional jam with added sugar is minimal from a caloric and glycemic point of view.
The proposals for greater transparency
The current situation highlights the need for more stringent regulatory interventions. Some proposals may predict the following:
The words “100% fruit” represent more a marketing strategy than a real indication on the composition of the product. Between creative interpretations of the legislation and legislative empty, the consumer finds himself having to decipher ambiguous messages that have little to do with information transparency.
Awareness passes through understanding that no transformed product can maintain the nutritional properties of fresh fruit, certainly trivial thought as 100%true. Remember that it can be beet sugar, or concentrated apple juice, and that in any case the calorie intake and the glycemic impact will remain substantially unchanged. Only a careful reading of the labels, combined with clearer and restrictive legislation, can guarantee really informed food choices.
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