Associate Professor Andrew Reynolds, EDOR Co-Director, was asked by NZ Herald journalist Varsha Anjali what people should be looking for when reading nutritional labels on packaged foods.
Nutrition information panels (NIPs) are the small label on the back of food packaging which lists the nutrients and ingredients. Here are some key tips from Andrew on what to look for.
How to read a Nutrition Information Panel (NIP)
The serving size on the NIP might not be the amount you tend to eat, which can make it misleading. Most of the time it makes sense to focus on the ‘per 100g’ column of nutrients, as this allows better comparisons between foods.
Another thing to consider is that these nutrition information panels are quite small! Sometimes it is easier to take a photo on your phone, then zoom in.
For ingredient lists, it’s important to know that they list the main ingredient first and then all the other ingredients in order of amount.
Fibre
Unfortunately New Zealanders don't eat enough fibre, especially considering it has a protective effect against a number of diseases.
Many high fibre foods like vegetables and fruit won't have labels, but looking at the fibre content on the NIP is useful when choosing breads or breakfast cereals. The higher the better.
Saturated Fat
More saturated fat in your diet is linked with a higher risk of heart disease.
Andrew looks for foods that have less than 10% saturated fat. This is quite easy to spot when looking at the per 100g column, as the saturated fat value should be below 10g per 100g.
Added sugars
Added sugars are associated with a higher risk of tooth decay and obesity, but not all nutrition labels separate out added sugars.
If the NIP does list added sugars, look for foods that are less than 10% added sugars (less than 10g per 100g). This can be more helpful than looking for "sugar" on an ingredient list, as many different names for sugar can be used like fructose, maltose, sucrose, glucose, maple syrup, corn syrup and so on. For the body, these are all just added sugar!
Sodium
Packaged foods can be high in sodium, which increases your risk of hypertension and stroke.
Typically New Zealanders consume too much sodium, with most of it coming from salt in packaged foods rather than salt added to food when eating. Looking at the amount of sodium per 100g is really useful when comparing similar food products, to help find the lowest sodium option.
Protein
Inadequate protein is not an issue for most New Zealanders, the exception being some older adults.
“If you are looking after your health, then focusing on the protein content of packaged foods isn’t as important as the fibre, saturated fat, added sugar and sodium content. However if you are over 65 years old and losing muscle mass, you may want to consider products with a higher protein content,” says Dr Reynolds.
View the NZ Herald article
How to read a nutritional label – and the red flags experts look out for, NZ Herald (subscription required), 10 September, 2025