Trick? Or Treat? Learn to Avoid Misguiding Food Labels

It seems many manufacturers are using a combination of sugars, in the form of sucrose, high-fructose corn syrup, brown sugar, etc., and spreading them all over the label so you can't tell exactly how much total sugar is actually in the dang thing.

And that's just the tip of the iceberg lettuce.

Pesticides are not listed at all, and according to the report, some are actually masking dangerous ingredients with innocent-sounding names fooling consumers into thinking they're safe to ingest, such as sodium nitrite (coloring in processed meats), which reportedly causes the formation of carcinogenic N-nitrosamines by the reaction of it, with amino acids, when heated.

Some candy, ice cream, lipstick, yogurt, and eye shadows, said the report, are laced with "carmine," which is created from the powder of crushed red cochineal beetles. Cosmetics Design recently reported that insect-derived colorants, if not properly labeled, could be the cause behind many rashes, hives and anaphylaxis attacks.

Yeast extract masks MSG and portion sizes are drasticaly reduced (enough to stave off the hunger of a rodent), said the article, to make the quantities of fat or unhealthy ingredients alluring to the consumer, but in actuality, probably will triple when consumed in more appropriate portion sizes.

But the worst is that they actually "pad" the label with items such as "spirulina," (which contains essential vitamins and phytonutrients) which, more often than not, appears in such miniscule amounts that it ain't even worth mentioning - except to sell a product.

Check out the tips on how to be an expert food label reader here.