Worst packaged foods lies [part2]

The Hidden Trans-Fats

Cheetos Crunchy

The claim: “Zero gram trans fats”

The truth: FDA allows manufacturers to make this claim when their products contain less than 0.5 gram of trans fats per serving. It may seem insignificant, but 0.49 gram of this nefarious fat can add up quickly.

What you really want: Keep total trans-fat intake to no more than 1 percent of total calories—about 2.5 grams per day for most adults. That means reading the ingredients list (especially those that proclaim to be trans fat-free), and looking for “partially hydrogenated,” “shortening,” or “interesterified.” For a trans-fat cheat sheet, be sure to avoid any of the items on our list of the 10 trans-fattiest supermarket foods.

The Unnatural Fruit

Nutri-Grain Strawberry Cereal Bar

The claim: “Naturally and artificially flavored”

The truth: While the FDA requires manufacturers to disclose the use of artificial flavoring on the front of the box, the requirements for what is considered “natural” and “real” are not strict: Even trace amounts of the essence or extract of fruit counts as natural. So yes, there is fruit in this bar, but it falls third in the ingredients list, behind HFCS and corn syrup.

What you really want: An honest snack with nothing to hide. Lärabars, one of our favorite snacks in the aisle, are made with nothing more than dried fruit and nuts.

The "Health" Food That Isn't

Healthy Choice Sweet & Sour Chicken

The claim: “Healthy Choice”

The truth: A company can call itself whatever it wants, but that doesn’t give credence to the name. Healthy Choice even provides a handful of nutritional stats—430 calories, 9 grams fat, 600 milligrams sodium—to back up the name, but they neglect to mention the 29 grams of added sugars used in this dish. The 6 different sweeteners in the ingredient list combine to give this less-than-healthy choice almost the same amount of sugar as a Snickers bar. Many Healthy Choice selections are reliably nutritious; this is not one of them.

What you really want: Dinner that doesn’t taste like a bowl of ice cream. While fat and calories are important considerations in everything you eat, be sure to read the fine print. Companies with healthy label claims often pull the bait-and-switch, going low in fat but then elevating the sugar or sodium to up the flavor quotient.