Food labelling

Check
Firstly check for labels that say an item is free range, organic (look for the Soil Association logo) or that have the Little Red Tractor (produced to British Farm Standard) or the RSPCAs’ Freedom Food on them.  The latter two assurance schemes do not, however, guarantee that animals produced for meat have not been intensively farmed do lay down minimum welfare standards.

Secondly, make it a priority in your post divorce life to buy food that is produced as near to where you live as possible. Supporting your regional producers and farmers is better for the environment – cutting down on food miles – and for the local economy.  Where animals are concerned they will have had to travel shorter distances to the slaughterhouse and so suffer less stress as a result.

Food fraud
This is widespread and can net huge amounts of money for the perpetrators who con the public into thinking that an inferior product is actually something else and are charged accordingly.

It should not surprise us that many large food producers and processors are less than forthcoming when it comes to declaring the origins of much of their produce and what goes into it. Under food labelling rules it is currently possible to both mislead and confuse, albeit legitimately, consumers about such matters and many food manufacturers take full advantage of the leeway this affords them.

Date labelling
Use by dates appear on food that goes off quickly such as prepared salads, smoked fish and meat products.  It is not wise to use food or drink after the use by date even if it smells and looks alright as doing so may put your health at risk.  It is illegal for shops to sell food after this date has passed.  Also be careful to follow any other directions on such goods which may recommend refrigeration or specific cooking or heating instructions and to use up any leftovers as soon as possible.

The best before date appears on a wide range of foods including frozen, dried and tinned.  Best before is more about quality than safety so that even if a product is over the date it does not mean that it may not be good to eat.  Eggs should not,  however be eaten after ‘best before’ as they can contain salmonella bacteria which could start to multiply after this date.

Sell by and display by dates are used by some retailers to help with stock rotation and to make it easier for staff to know when to remove food from sale. .

GDAs and traffic lights
Labelling of food to show levels of fats, sugar and salt is currently voluntary but concerns about the increase in obesity amongst children and adults have led to calls for easy to understand food labelling on manufactured processed foods.

New labels being promoted by some of the UK's largest food manufacturers show percentages of GDAs - guideline daily amounts - of sugar, fat, salt and calories per serving.

Labels approved by the Food Standards Agency use a traffic lights system of red, amber and green with green equating to good and red to bad for levels of salt, sugar and fat.

There is one easy way to avoid being confused by the different systems – by making a resolution in your brand new life after divorce to buy only  fresh, unadulterated and unprocessed food.  Cooking from scratch means that you control exactly what goes into you and your family’s meals.