Empowering the public to make informed food choices is the aim of the Ministry of Health’s Reading Food Label Campaign.
The Ministry took the Campaign to the Xtra Foods Plaza in Aranguez where officials were able to show shoppers how useful the guides can be in making healthier choices.
Director of Non-Communicable Diseases, Dr. Maria Clapperton, said the Ministry is taking a practical approach to encourage healthy lifestyles.
She said the guides, “Building a Healthy Plate” and “Understanding Food Labels,” are designed to help individuals better understand nutritional information while grocery shopping.
“A lot of people do not understand how to read a food label and we’ve really tried to break it down as easy as possible. So as you can see here, a box of cereal and this is the food label that is located on the side of the box of cereal and this is a guide to understanding how to read and interpret the food label. So we would have broken it down into five simple steps. Step one would be checking the serving size, which is usually located at the top of the food label. Step two, look at the number of servings in the package.”
The guide outlines recommended daily amounts for essential nutrients like salt, carbohydrates, and fibre, while also advising on what to limit.
Minister of Health Terrence Deyalsingh emphasised moderation as the key to a balanced diet.
“We are not saying don’t eat salt. We are not saying don’t eat sugar. We are not saying don’t eat fats. What we are saying is do all of these things in some moderation. What you find is that a lot of what we call ultra-processed foods, UPS, anything that is bought in a package is processed. So what we are trying to get people to do is to substitute some of these processed foods for natural foods.”
The Reading Food Label Campaign is being promoted under the umbrella of the Ministry’s TTMoves campaign.
Minister Deyalsingh also highlighted progress in managing Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs).
He reported that hypertension clinics have successfully controlled blood pressure in nearly 40% of the 60,000 patients treated. Additionally, diabetes clinics have seen a 16% reduction in lower-limb amputations, a significant achievement in the fight against complications of uncontrolled diabetes.