So what’s actually in the can you’re holding? It’s all in the ingredients list. Some lists are short, while others are long, but each and every ingredients list have one thing in common — it’s always listed from most to least. This means, if sugar is the first or second ingredient listed, the main ingredient of this product is sugar.

The nutrition information panel breaks down how much energy, protein, fat, carbohydrates, sugar and sodium is in a product. The panel can also include vitamins and minerals, if the product makes any health claims about them. This panel will always have amounts per serving’ and ‘per 100g’, so remember to use the latter column when comparing one product, as serving sizes can vary from product to product.

The stars on the front of a product’s label are part of a government-led initiative called Health Star Ratings. This rates the overall nutritional profile of packaged food, to give it a rating from 0.5 through to 5 stars. This is determined using a calculator designed to assess positive and risk nutrients in food. Just remember, the more stars you see, the healthier the choice. Only use the Health Star Ratings to compare similar products — for example, when comparing one brand of breakfast cereal with another breakfast cereal. Woolworths NZ is committed to displaying the Health Star Rating on all eligible Own Brand products, with over 1,200 of these products already displaying the rating on the front.

If you or someone you’re buying food for has allergies or special dietary requirements, then you’ll need to look for the ‘allergy declaration’, which is used to declare if a product ‘contains’ or ‘may contain’ a particular substance that could cause an allergic reaction in certain people. If the label states that it ‘contains’ a certain ingredient, it means that the product does includes this particular allergen — e.g. egg or milk. ‘May contains’ means that the product could have been exposed to allergens during preparation or the manufacturing process, in the way of cross contamination with other ingredients. This declaration is important because exposure to a certain substance can be life or death for some people.

These breakdowns mean you can understand exactly what you’re eating by reading these food labels. This makes it easier to make better choices for a healthier lifestyle. Woolworths NZ continues to work towards having Own Brand products clearly labelled, which includes the Health Star Rating, and also helping people know which products are free of artificial flavours and artificial colours — such as the Own Brand range of products and our in-store baked goods.