PDA

View Full Version : The Power of Food Packaging


Welcome to the Active Low-Carber Forums

Support for Atkins diet, Protein Power, Neanderthin (Paleo Diet), CAD/CALP, Dr. Bernstein Diabetes Solution and any other healthy low-carb diet or plan, all are welcome in our lowcarb community. Forget starvation and fad diets -- join the healthy eating crowd! You may register by clicking here, it's free!



Patina
Sat, Mar-12-11, 09:41
Last week my husband I were grocery shopping and he has chosen to continue eating carbs but he is trying to limit them and make what he calls "healthy" carb choices.

So he decided he needed some hot dog buns to go with some hot links we were buying. I watched him as he scanned all the choices in front of him and he finally picked up a pack of buns called "Fill'ems Sandwich Thins" which says they are "New" and only 100 calories and made with 100% whole wheat. They are long like a hot dog bun only flatter...sort of a skinny bun.

Anyway, my husband looks at me with that look of "are these okay? They look healthy" and all I asked him was "how many carbs are in one of those?". He looked at the label and he says "21 grams of carbs and 5 grams of fiber." I said "Okay so that's a total of 16 net carbs per bun. How many carbs are in one regular hot dog bun?" He grabs a pack of white flour hot dog buns and says "21 grams of carbs and 1 gram of fiber." He thought about it a moment and then he said "You know what? These advertisers are really sneaky! When I look at the skinny buns they have packaging and words I associate with a healthy choice but when you really compare the two, they're pretty much the same!". He genuinely seemed shocked!

He ended up buying the skinny, whole wheat buns because he just felt better about them and he was really drawn to the healthy looking packaging. But a couple times since he bought them he has mentioned how he can't believe that they really weren't much healthier than their white flour counterparts.

I just gently remind him that a carb is a carb no matter if it comes from white flour or whole wheat flour. But it really was interesting to see him actually THINK about what he was seeing on the labels versus what he was reading on the packaging. Really did hit home for me how powerful packaging can be and why companies do spend so much money and research designing their product packaging. Obviously companies love people who don't read labels!

WereBear
Sat, Mar-12-11, 10:26
Obviously companies love people who don't read labels!

I've never understood why people don't even try to figure things out for themselves. It's like they get stuck in "kid mode." sure, when you are five or ten you don't know anything about anything.

But the point of being an adult is... being an adult.

abbykitty
Sat, Mar-12-11, 11:48
I just gently remind him that a carb is a carb no matter if it comes from white flour or whole wheat flour. But it really was interesting to see him actually THINK about what he was seeing on the labels versus what he was reading on the packaging. Really did hit home for me how powerful packaging can be and why companies do spend so much money and research designing their product packaging. Obviously companies love people who don't read labels!

I totally see your point but I do think whole grain carbs are better than white flour carbs, I'd have bought the whole wheat ones too . . .

BeefyPork
Sat, Mar-12-11, 13:56
No kidding!

I remember a couple of years ago where I found these candy peach rings, and the serving size mentioned there being only 2 grams of carbs/sugars. I laughed.

Why did I laugh so hard? That and the fact that the serving size was "one peach" per there being at least fifty servings in a bag.

Genius marketing!

WereBear
Sat, Mar-12-11, 17:31
Just wanted to add: good for your husband! Now that he knows, labels will have all kinds of revelations.

BigBenny
Sat, Mar-12-11, 19:30
On a related note, I've heard there's some talking going around about legislating serving sizes. For instance, a serving of cereal is..1/4-1/2 cup while almost no one eats less than 1 cup. Supposedly the serving sizes listed on products must be what the average user is expected to eat, not the way it is now where they decrease the serving size to make it seem healthier -- which, by the way, they do with many foods that contain trans fats. They decrease the serving size until the trans fat is less than 1 gram, so they can claim it as being 0g

Patina
Sat, Mar-12-11, 21:15
On a related note, I've heard there's some talking going around about legislating serving sizes. For instance, a serving of cereal is..1/4-1/2 cup while almost no one eats less than 1 cup. Supposedly the serving sizes listed on products must be what the average user is expected to eat, not the way it is now where they decrease the serving size to make it seem healthier

Yes, I see this all the time. Before going LC, I ate a lot of canned soup. Some seemed pretty healthy except one can had 2 to 2.5 servings and of course, who doesn't eat the whole can as one serving?

anniede
Sun, Mar-13-11, 13:44
No quite carb related but...

I have a similar reaction when I watch people automatically pick up the "bulk" size of something and not look at the price. Some times, I've found that the "bulk" is now more expensive than the smaller sizes when you look at the "price per oz". The calculator on my cell phone is my new best friend.

Anne

katoman
Sun, Mar-13-11, 20:28
No quite carb related but...

I have a similar reaction when I watch people automatically pick up the "bulk" size of something and not look at the price. Some times, I've found that the "bulk" is now more expensive than the smaller sizes when you look at the "price per oz". The calculator on my cell phone is my new best friend.

Anne

LOL! I shop "price per ounce" and routinely end up buying the smaller package because it's actually cheaper!