How to tell what’s in the food you buy

With many food options at the grocery store, understanding what’s in the food can help you make informed decisions. This is where food labels come in.

Three tools to use. When comparing foods, these three labelling tools can tell you what’s in your food so that you can make a more informed decision:

• The nutrition symbol. Look for the new magnifying glass symbol on the front of the package. If you see it, the food is high in one or more of saturated fat, sugars, sodium or any combination of these nutrients. 
• The nutrition facts table. This is on the back or side of the package. It lists key nutrients and how much of each nutrient the stated serving of the food contains. The nutrient amounts are provided in grams or milligrams, and in per cent daily values, which you can use to compare foods. If you want a quick rule of thumb, 5% or less is a little, 15% or more is a lot.
• The list of ingredients. This is also on the back or side of the package. It tells you what the food is made of, in order of weight. 
  Tip: All of a food’s added sugars are grouped together after the word “Sugars.” This grouping helps you see if sugars were added and what their source is.

By using these labelling tools, you can get important nutrition information on what you’re buying and compare foods more easily to help you make informed decisions. Learn more about using the labels at canada.ca/nutrition-labelling.