Not healthy as it sounds

Sugar free, organic, vegan, fat free, gluten free and 100 per cent natural are some of the labels on food packets to lure customers, especially those who are health-conscious. But are they produced in accordance with labelled claims and health guidelines? Studies point out some these food items including processed snacks may not be healthy at all.

According to Mintel’s 2018 Global Food & Drink Trends report, consumers are increasingly looking for “complete and total transparency from food and drink companies.”

They want to know what’s in their food, not what’s missing. They’re curious about where food comes from, how it was grown and how it can impact their health. For years, consumers blindly believed claims like “natural” and “no sugar added” meant a product was better for their health, but this is beginning to change.

“If anybody is concerned about calories and carbs because they have diabetes, they may toss no sugar added products in their grocery cart. They may be duped”, says another study.

Foods, including fruit, milk, cereals, and vegetables naturally contain sugar. So although these products may not have added sugar they still may contain natural sugars.

“And no sugar added products still may contain added ingredients like maltodextrin, a carbohydrate” adds the study.

‘All natural’ is another term used to fool the consumers. All natural doesn’t mean all that much. “Manufacturers claim that the so-called natural food doesn’t contain added colours, artificial flavours, or synthetic substances. In reality, they have preservatives or are injected with sodium to prevent them being decayed”, argues the study.

Fat free is another misleading label. When the dangers of saturated and trans fat became clear, the market was flooded with products that touted their fat-free status.

“Just because it says it’s fat-free, doesn’t mean you get a free ride,” says the study. “Packages could say it’s fat free, but be loaded with sugar, and sugar-free products could be loaded with fat.”

In addition to factory-made food packets, many shops including cafeteria have snacks made in unhygienic conditions at homes, that too, without any commercial licence.

Not only that these packets have any labels but lack manufacturing details or date of expiry, says an official at the Food Control Department of Muscat Municipality.

“What is more frustrating is the use of deceptive marketing techniques used even by reputed companies to cheat health conscious people,” said the official.

Very often people eat these packaged food items without knowing the fact that they are neither healthy and nor beneficial, says Waheeda Mohamed, a nutritionist.