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Diet and light foods and beverages cause a lot of confusion at the time of purchase. Don't make any more mistakes and know which one to buy

There are a variety of special foods and beverages available for purchase in the markets that are suitable for certain people who have a different diet or want to lose weight. The famous light and diet products can be included in this category. However, there are many doubts and curiosity among the general population to know the difference between diet and light, and common products. Let's clarify below.

According to the guide produced by the Ministry of Health, foods or beverages considered light are those with reduced energy or nutrient value. On the other hand, products considered diet are those that have non-significant amounts or are free of a certain nutrient (such as sugar, salt, protein, fat, carbohydrate or lactose), and are intended for people with food restriction, such as diabetics and hypertensives.

Another important issue is related to the misuse of these special products. For example: a diet food or drink may be sugar-free, but it may contain more fat than a conventional product. So you don't make a mistake, let's go on with the explanations.

light

Light foods or beverages contain a certain nutrient that is reduced, so it is possible that another nutrient is in greater quantity to compensate for the reduction.

See the table below which informs, according to the specifications of the National Health Surveillance Agency (Anvisa), the maximum amount that a light product can have:

The information in the table is for foods or beverages indicated with one of the following words: low, light , lite, light, low, poor, reduced.

When a food has reduced amounts of sugars, it may present the following sentence: “this is not a food with reduced caloric value”. This means that, although the sugars are reduced, it does not mean that the caloric value was also reduced. The product may have larger amounts of another ingredient, such as fat, which keeps the caloric value the same. This food is not the most suitable for people who want to lose weight. For these individuals, the most suitable food would first be the one with reduced caloric value, in which the sugars are also lower (but this is not a rule).

diet

Through the specifications of the National Health Surveillance Agency (Anvisa), it is possible to check the maximum amounts of nutrients for diet foods:

The information in the table is for foods indicated with one of the following words: diet, does not contain, free, free, without, zero and exempt. Products that have the phrase "no added sugar" as an indication are sugar-free during production and do not contain sugar-containing ingredients.

Some foods/beverages are known as “zero”. These are nothing more than diet products, which do not contain a certain nutrient.

Diet foods/drinks have the same guidelines considered for light foods/drinks regarding sugars. In these foods, the information about the exemption of sugars does not make the product a food with reduced caloric value. If foods with non-significant amounts or without sugar are indicated for people with diabetes, they are not recommended for people who need to lose pounds, as they may contain ingredients in larger amounts, such as fat, which amount is equal to or greater than of a traditional food/beverage.

Briefly, the food light have a certain nutrient in smaller amounts; while the food diet are free of a certain type of nutrient. However, it does not mean that both types of products have lower caloric value than normal items.

Information that can lead to error

More than not knowing the difference between light and diet foods/beverages, several products appear in the markets that provide wrong information on their labels, leading the consumer to make a mistake when buying.

The term light, in some products, may be misleadingly described, because associated with it must contain information about which component has its low or reduced content to be considered light.

Foods or beverages that contain the information “0% fat”, “0% cholesterol” or “0% sugar” do not meet consumer communication standards for diet products. In other words, first it is necessary to specify the type of fat (trans, total, saturated) that is absent from the product; second, information about the absence of a component must be communicated through the words “does not contain…”, “free…”, “free from…” and “without…”.

Therefore, when observing this type of erroneous information on food packaging, suspect that it may not actually present the exemption of a certain component, as it does not comply with the standards provided by Anvisa and by legislation.

The Product Analysis Program carried out by the National Institute of Metrology, Quality and Technology (Inmetro), tested several products that communicated to be light or diet. The tests showed disparities between what was presented on the label and what the laboratory tests indicated. Many products claimed to have no fat, but the results indicated the presence of fat in the food.

You must be very careful when buying a product that claims to be light or diet. With the tips learned here, you are on your way to being a more conscientious consumer.