Reading food labels

How to read food labels

Nutrition information panels and ingredients lists are a good way to compare similar foods and choose the best option for you. You’ll find them on almost all packaged foods, and they must meet government standards, ensuring the information is reliable.

For people aiming to make heart-healthy choices, the nutrition information panel is most useful to choose products lower in salt and avoid those high in saturated and trans fats.

Read our tips to better understand food labels and spot key nutrients and ingredients like saturated fat and salt.

What’s included on a Nutrition Information Panel

What to look out for on food labels

1. Pay attention to salt & fats

For a healthy heart, it's important to choose foods that are lower in salt, and unhealthy fats like saturated and trans fats.

Salt is listed as sodium on the nutrition panel. Use the per 100g/ml column to compare products and choose the one with the least sodium. A product low in salt will contain less than 120mg sodium per 100g.

Nutrient content claims can also help you choose lower salt products. Look for claims such as "no added salt" or "reduced salt" options in foods like canned veggies, sauces, breads, and unsalted nuts.

Fats include both healthy and unhealthy types. On the label, you'll see total fat, which includes both heart-healthy fats, like monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats, and unhealthy ones like saturated and trans fats.

• Use the per 100g/ml column to compare similar products and pick the one with the least amount of saturated fat.
• Trans fat isn’t always listed, but if it is, choose foods with less than 1g of trans fat per 100g—especially when buying margarine or bakery items like biscuits, cakes or pies.

2. Check the ingredients list

The ingredients list can help you find ingredients you may want to avoid or include in your eating pattern.

Ingredients are listed from the largest amount to the smallest by weight. If salt, saturated fat, or sugar are among the first three ingredients, it might not be the healthiest choice for your heart. Keep an eye out for other names for saturated and trans fat or salt such as:

• Saturated/trans fat – ‘partially hydrogenated’ vegetable oil or vegetable fat, animal fat, copha, palm oil, coconut oil.
• Salt – sodium, monosodium glutamate, vegetable salt.
• Sugar - glucose, golden syrup, honey, maple syrup, sucrose

Health Star Ratings

The Health Star Rating is voluntary, so not all products will have one. Health Star Ratings are a quick way to compare how healthy packaged foods are within their category, for example comparing one brand of muesli bars to another. You’ll find them on the front of food packaging. When comparing similar foods, go for the option with the most stars.