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Consumers nowadays are more particular about what they put inside their mouths and bodies. This is where food labels come in handy. Labels should be designed so that consumers are provided with useful information about the food and how these would fit into their daily diets. This is especially true since one item is available in many sizes, shapes, forms and brand names. According to law, all prepackaged foods should have the following information on their labels:
 
1. Name of food or the nature of the food
2. Brand name or trade name
3. The net content referring to the amount of food minus the weight of the packaging, including sauce, syrup or oil as long as it is edible.  
4. List of ingredients in descending order of proportion by weight. It must also tell the consumer what type of fats or oils are used in the product and variations of ingredients specifically sugar which can also be listed as honey, corn syrup, molasses or lactose.
5. Name and address of the manufacturer, packer or distributor.
6. The serving size and number of servings per container
7. The quantities of specified nutrients and food constituents including any additives or chemical preservatives used. Such information would be useful to people who suffer allergies to specific ingredients. A value seen in most "Nutrition Facts" labels is "% Daily Values". This allows you to compare nutrient amounts among different brands of a particular food.

 

‘Look at total calories and either grams fat or fat calories as stated in the label. If grams fat is given, multiply this by 9 to get fat calories’

 

For the calorie and fat content, here is a little trick you can do while in the grocery. Look at total calories and either grams fat or fat calories as stated in the label. If grams fat is given, multiply this by 9 to get fat calories. Then simply get the percentage of fat calories out of the total calories. Thus, if a label states 200 calories and 10 grams of fat: 

10 x 9 = 90 calories from fat
90 / 200 = .45 x 100 = 45% of the total calories comes from fat, which is way above the recommended 30% from fats.

 
8. Manufacturing date/Expiry date
Dates are printed on labels to let consumers know they are buying fresh foods. In the Philippines, Open-Date Marking is done for particular foods. These include:

1. "Consume Before" date or "Use by" date of expiration – signifies the end of estimated shelf life of a product under stated storage conditions and is no longer fit for human consumption and shall no longer be marketable.
2. "Best Before" or "Best Use by" date – signifies the end of period, under stated storage conditions beyond which certain quality attributes will be expected to deteriorate. The product may still be satisfactory for human consumption and shall remain marketable.
3. Expiration date – is the day the product becomes spoiled or loses its effectivity.

 
Labels should be placed prominently on the packaging. The print should be readable by the naked eye (no fine print!) and understood by the majority. English is still the preferred language but it is not unusual to see Filipino labels. As one moves out to the provinces, labels written in the dialect becomes more common. Under no circumstances should foreign language be used (except English). Should there be foreign words, proper translations must accompany them.