Label Lies

Series Title: Exploring Health From All Its Dimensions
Article #6 | Title: Label Lies
Author: Jana Elbanna

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As we near the end of this series, I want to talk to you more about our food labels and how they are meticulously designed to mislead us.

How Are Food Labels Designed to Mislead?

And Is It Ethical?

When we purchase food from a grocery store, they often have a lot of claims on them like “all natural”, “zero sugar”, “good source of protein”, and many more. Some crafted with care to stretch the truth, others made deliberately vague to hide poor quality ingredients.

When does branding become deception, and is it even ethical to sell things that are made to be misleading?

PSYCHOLOGY

Food labels are made with the intention to influence and cause a certain behavior. Studies in consumer psychology have shown that most people don’t read the fine print, so they rely on quick visual cues: keywords, front-pack buzzwords, and even color schemes.

A study found that the front labels on packages with terms like “natural” or “whole grain” increased the perceived healthiness of these products in consumers’ minds (even when the actual nutritional content was poor). To the point that consumers would rate junk food that was labeled “natural” as a better option than unlabeled versions of more nutritious options.

Accident? Absolutely not, it’s tactical design and marketing.

Mask

So, what are the common ways labels mislead?

1. Serving size manipulation

Products tend to have the nutrient information at the very front, such as “100 calories per serving,” which can be misleading when the product contains 2.5 servings or more. Yet people assume that for small products like sodas or a chocolate bar that it is one serving.

2. Illusions of the “made with” label

Did you know that when a package says “made with wholegrain,” that could mean a tiny amount of wheat flour, which would be buried beneath refined white flour and sugar! And “made with real fruit” often includes fruit flavoring and a concentrate of the fruit, instead of the whole fruit. Do you feel tricked yet?

3. Highlighting the good — Hiding the bad

Products often highlight the good, like “high protein” (as we say in my previous article), while the product is loaded with added sugars and artificial sweeteners, and additives.

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4. Buzzword with no legal meaning

Companies often use words like “natural” and “Immune boosting,” which can sound reassuring, but the FDA has no strict definition for those buzz terms, meaning they can LITERALLY MEAN WHATEVER THE MANUFACTURER WANTS them to MEAN. You see where I'm going with this…

Regulation Gaps

In the US the FDA & USDA oversee food labeling, but their reinforcement is often loose, and companies are left with a lot of legal room to mislead without technically lying.

Examples:

• The word “natural” has no official definition, so as long as the product doesn’t have any added colors, synthetic substances, or artificial flavors. It’s natural, people!
• Food with up to 0.5g of trans fat per serving can be labeled “0g trans fat”.

Bottom line, manufacturers can manipulate phrasing to help them sell more through the creation of an illusion of a healthier product. All while meeting the minimal regulatory requirements.

Ethical?

Would we as consumers consider this a clever marketing technique or manipulation of consumer trust?

In my opinion, this is pure deception, because food is not just a product, it’s a public health issue. Consumers’ lack of knowledge is being taken for granted, companies are exploiting consumers’ cognitive shortcuts to sell highly processed products. They are not trying to just INFLUENCE, they are DECEIVING.

For many consumers, labels are the only source of information they have to make decision so when that information is misleading, it affects vulnerable populations- children, low-income households and individuals with limited nutrition literacy.

Information asymmetry in food labeling perpetuates health disparities and erodes consumer autonomy.

To put it simply, it’s not just misleading, it’s unjust.

ACTION

1. Read beyond the front. I understand how annoying and frustrating this might be to some people, especially when you’re trying to shop quickly, but reading the ingredient list and nutrition facts is where the real truth lies.
2. Be skeptical of claims. If a product has to scream HEALTHY on the front…. I can guarantee you it probably isn’t.
3. Serving size games. Always check how many serving sizes are listed and what that means in real-life portions. (not saying you should only stick to one serving size- this is a conversation for a later time)

Food labeling isn’t broken, it’s doing what they want the food industry to do…get us addicted to food so we buy more so they can sell more and make more profit.

It’s designed TO SELL.

KNOWING WHAT YOU ARE EATING SHOULD NOT FEEL LIKE DETECTIVE WORK, after all, we’re not all Sherlock Holmes ;)