Why do they do it? Why do food manufacturers put Nutrition
Facts panels on the bottom of a package?
These are warehouse store-sized boxes of Cheerios and Kashi
wheat squares, with all sorts of room to put the Nutrition info on the side of
the box. But it is on the bottom. Do they think people don’t look at these
panels?
I can understand why Russell Stover’s and other candy boxes
have the nutrition info on the bottom…the manufacturers don’t want to make a
big deal about calories of this fun food, and many people don’t really want to
think about how many calories they are eating.
But it’s not just calorie counting people who look at these
panels. A big part of my job is to teach people to read labels. For people with
diabetes, we look at the carbohydrate content of a food portion. For heart
disease and high cholesterol, we look at the types of fat in a portion of a
food. For allergies, we study the list of ingredients.
So if you really want to know the carbohydrate grams in your
cereal, you have to turn the box upside down. No big deal, right? But if the
cereal has already been opened, and isn’t securely closed, you can make a huge
mess (and may have to toss the part that hits the floor).
Hey Costco, Sam’s Club and other warehouse stores: Can’t you
twist the arm of manufacturers and let them know that many of your members
would be happier if the food label info was on the side, not the bottom? Rant over.
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