营养标签——食品的“健康身份证”

<正> 世界经济一体化的今天,食品营养标签的发展已趋向于国际化,世界各国纷纷制定食品营养标签标准或法规,在法律上对其认可,规范其作为公布食品营养信息重要媒体的行为,引导消费者合理选择食品以促进身体健康。

Nutritional label,the health identification of foods

Nowadays,food nutritional label tends to globalize.Nutri- tional labels in different countries generally content two parts in common,nutritional ingredients information and nutritional claims.The nutritional ingredients information has resemblances in content and form.Information on the amount of nutritional ingredients is usually compulsory,involving calories,protein, fat,carbohydrate and other nutrients associate with the claim. China has established certain state standards of food nutri- tional ingredients,which however still need to be improved further,given that the current label easily misleads consumers. But new guidelines for nutrition labeling on packaged foods introduced by China Ministry of Health on 18 December 2007 takes effect from 1 May 2008.The guidelines,the first of their kind in the country,strongly urge manufacturers to use labels that inform consumers of the nutritional value of their products. The guidelines aim to standardize labeling and provide customers with information that is easy to understand.That asks for labels to carry a nutritional fact chart and details of how "healthy"each product is considered to be.Specifically,the per unit content of energy,fat,protein and carbohydrate should be stated,along with details of the saturated fat,cholesterol, sugar,vitamin and mineral content.Products that are labeled as being rich in fat and cholesterol are likely to drive away health- conscious buyers. The new guidelines are expected to improve food compo- sition and manufacturing technology,to guide consumer choices towards a more balanced diet,to promote nutrition-related education,and to standardise food labeling to facilitate interna- tional trade.