How to Read Food Label Ingredients

If you're like most people, you care about what goes into your food--and into your body. Perhaps you would like to make a habit of reading ingredients on food labels. But if you don't know your "sodium erythorbate" from your "acesulfame potassium," you may have trouble reading food label ingredients. Fortunately, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's online topic "Food Ingredients and Colors" describes many common food additives. Can you identify some of the more common food label ingredients, and do you know why manufacturers use these additives in particular foods?

Instructions

• 1

  Recognize that food label ingredients are listed in order according to weight. According to the FDA's online topic "Ingredient Lists," ingredients weighing more are listed before ingredients weighing less. For instance, "peanuts" would likely be listed first on a jar of peanut butter, while "salt" might be listed last.

• 2

  Look for nutrients. Some nutrient additives include riboflavin, folic acid, ferrous sulfate, potassium iodide and amino acids. The FDA website explains that these ingredients are added to replace nutrients lost during processing, referred to as "enrichment," or to add extra nutrients, known as "fortification."

• 3

  Look for preservatives. Preservatives help to maintain freshness, prevent food from spoiling and reduce changes in texture, color and flavor over time. Common food preservatives include citric acid, ascorbic acid, sodium erythorbate, sodium benzoate and calcium sorbate.

• 4

  Look for sweeteners. Common sweeteners including fructose, sorbitol, saccharin, high fructose corn syrup, acesulfame potassium and glucose.

• 5

  Look for flavor enhancers. The most common are monosodium glutamate, or MSG, and hydrolyzed soy protein.

• 6

  Look for emulsifiers. Emulsifers make it easier to mix certain ingredients, and prevent those ingredients from separating once mixing is complete. Emulsifiers include polysorbates, soy lecithin, diglycerides and monodiglycerides.

• 7

  Look for leavening agents, which are used in baked goods. Monocalcium phosphate and calcium carbonate are two leavening agents that help baked goods rise in the oven.

• 8

  Look for firming agents. Calcium chloride and calcium lactate are two firming agents added to give foods crispness or firmness.