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It’s the season for curling up with your favourite nosh, but there’s a lot that food labels aren’t telling consumers. Here are a few shocking secrets the centre for science in the public interest uncovered.
Danone fruit-bottom yogurt
Supposed to be a great source of calcium, potassium, etc…
What you didn’t know: It’s loaded with sugar — 2 teaspoons more than a glass of Hershey’s fat-free chocolate milk. Quite a load for a snack, don’t you think?
Then there are the calories — up to 240 per serving, about the same as a 7-ounce chicken souvlaki kebab.
The fat-free variety sold in Canada contains the artificial sweetener aspartame, which has been linked in lab tests to a raft of illnesses, including brain tumours in mice.
Verdict: With yogurt, blander is better.
Quaker 100% Natural Oats & Honey Granola
Billed as “100 per cent natural.”
What you didn’t know: One serving contains about 6 teaspoons of sugar, more than some run-of-the-mill breakfast cereals.
The kicker? It contains more artery-clogging fat than a McDonald’s hamburger.
Verdict: Don’t be fooled by the picture of the nice man on the carton.
Popcorn
Smart food, right?
What you didn’t know: A large bag of the typical movie variety contains about 80 grams of fat (50 of them saturated), an amount equal to six Big Macs, and that’s if you skip the butter.
Most theatre popcorn is cooked in oil that’s almost twice as saturated as lard.
The stuff on grocery store shelves is even worse.
Verdict: Pop your own low-fat variety. Rent a video.
Marketed as a good source of vitamins A, B1 and C…
What you didn’t know: Each cup contains only a teaspoon or two of actual fruit juice.
It’s missing the vitamins, minerals and cancer-fighting plant phytochemicals found in real orange juice.
Verdict: Little more than a non-carbonated soft drink.President’s Choice Salmon Wellington
Omega-3 fats in fish are an essential part of a healthy diet.
What you didn’t know: There are only about 60 grams of salmon per 120 gram serving.
The cream, butter, homogenized milk, palm oil margarine and shortening in the puff pastry contribute 350 calories of artery-clogging fat.
Also contains cholesterol-raising “trans fats.”
Verdict: Feels more like a Harvey’s Ultra Hamburger going down.
Haagen Dazs ice cream
Think quality ice cream and you probably think Haagen Dazs. Read on.
What you didn’t know:One cup contains as much fat as half a stick of butter and…
More artery-clogging saturated fat (26 grams) than a 13-ounce ribeye.
Verdict: Not for the faint-hearted.
Campbell’s condensed soups
Something to warm your stomach. What you didn’t know
One can contains more salt (about 950 milligrams) than half your recommended daily intake.
Verdict: Can you say “hypertension”?
Pizza Hut’s Big New Yorker
Pizza is a passable source of nutrition when you’re on the run.
What you didn’t know: Each slice contains about the same amount of fat and calories as a McDonald’s quarter-pounder.
Two slices of the plain cheese and pepperoni contain a full day’s allotment of saturated fat and sodium and…
Twice as many calories as a 21-ounce sirloin steak.
Verdict: Deadly.
