Are you a good shopper? One of the characteristics of a good grocery shopper would be a label reader. Food labels are placed on the package for a reason. They are a helpful tool to see what ingredients are in the can, package or box. Sometimes we are in a hurry and don’t take the time to read a label. We can end up making a bad choice if we do this too often. Ingredients on the food label are listed from the most used to the least used by weight. Sometimes we don’t recognize or understand a word put on the label. Sugar is often added to foods to add flavor, add to texture or to assist in browning. Sometimes the sugar used in making a food is a word that we don’t recognize. The following words are a form of sugar and are often found on a food label:

•Fructose (sugar in fruit)

•Maltose

•Corn Syrup

•Molasses

•Dextrose

•Sucrose (table sugar)

•Lactose (sugar in milk)

•Honey

•Corn syrup solids

•Syrups

•Brown sugar syrups

•Brown sugar

Salt is added to food items during processing to add flavor and as a preservative. Salt as an ingredient may be listed by these terms:

•Salt

•Garlic Salt

•Onion Salt

•Seasoned Salt