It is not always easy for consumers in any country to tell whether a product contains added sugar, and how much is present, based on nutritional information printed on packaging alone.

That seems like the problem that actually needs solving.

[–] Immersive_Matthew@sh.itjust.works 14 points 7 months ago (1 children)

Agreed but our governments have nearly completely checked out of monitoring food less the more immediate consequence type situations. Good luck getting real olive oil for example.

[–] JackFrostNCola@lemmy.world 5 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago) (2 children)

Not sure which countries you are talking about but Australia's nutritional information seems pretty robust, every food product must list its ingredients, and in order of highest amount to lowest (sometimes with % for things like fruit in syrup, juices, etc).

Also they have a nutrition table where it shows each main factor (vitamins/minerals, sugars, salts, fats, carbohydrates, calories, etc.) And the amount per 'serving' (serving size noted) and per 100g of the product. So you can compare the exact same figures product to product and know which is better for you.

There are often other bits of information on the packs, (some of which are optional i believe) such as %of ingredients grown in australia, if its packed in australia, country of origin, 'health start rating' (0-5 star scale which shows a quick comparison of how healthy a TYPE of food is. Keep in mind a 4.5 star bottle of soft drink isnt healthy, it is simply more healthy than other soft drinks in its category, ie: a better choice)

[–] Immersive_Matthew@sh.itjust.works 4 points 7 months ago (2 children)

That is great to hear. I assume Extra Virgin Olive oil there is actually pure olive oil and not mixed with unhealthy seed oils?

[–] MuffinHeeler@aussie.zone 4 points 7 months ago (1 children)

The back of my Australian olive oil. All our food and drink has this, except alcohol which they regulate differently.

[–] Immersive_Matthew@sh.itjust.works 2 points 7 months ago

It is how it should be and it is similar here too, but despite labels like this, there has been plenty of fake olive oil discovered as the government stopped checking for quality. Looks like it is the same in Australia but sounds like they are doing something about it. https://www.abc.net.au/news/rural/2024-04-10/australian-extra-virgin-olive-oil-monitoring-program-starts/103688916

[–] livus@kbin.social 4 points 7 months ago (1 children)

It has to be called something else if it's adulterated.

[–] Immersive_Matthew@sh.itjust.works 1 points 7 months ago

That is how it really should be.

[–] livus@kbin.social 3 points 7 months ago

We're actually quite lucky in Australia and New Zealand with this.

[–] nekandro@lemmy.ml 14 points 7 months ago (2 children)

Victim blaming when Nestle could simply do... What's better for the human body?

[–] DJDarren@thelemmy.club 14 points 7 months ago

Yes, true. But have you considered the shareholders?

[–] beatle@aussie.zone 2 points 7 months ago

Relying on for profit corporations to do what is best for the human body is a fool’s errand.

Strong consumer labelling laws and regulation is the primary way to combat it. Encouraging consumers to actually read the packaging is also required.