7 Ways The Food Companies Fool You :

Most consumers take just 4 seconds to browse over food packaging before making a choice.

That's the window of opportunity a manufacturer has to convince you to buy their product. Here's how they do it:

1. Put something wholesome and natural on the front
   Fresh fruit, lush meadows, and green trees.
   The Reality. That's just a pretty picture - it might have nothing to do with what's in the packet.
2. Buzzword of the month
   At the moment it seems to be "whole grain" and "omega-3" and "fortified". Any savvy marketer will make sure they list these buzzwords in bold: front and center.
   The Reality: The actual content of the whole grain may be minimal - and can you really believe that the possible health benefits of the latest buzzword will outweigh the other junk in the food?
3. Big wrappers
   Looks like value for money yeah?
   The Reality: How many times have you ripped open a food wrapper only to find you've paid for about 1/3 air. Maybe manufacturers need to start listing the amount of "air" on the nutritional label.
4. Keep changing the product design
   More colors, more funky-stylee designs - whatever it takes to make you think that the same old food has suddenly become altogether different.
   The Reality: Same food, different box.
5. Ticks and bullet point lists
   Free from artificial flavors "TICK!" Free from preservatives "TICK!" Baked not Fried "TICK!".
   The Reality: Who cares. The 3 main ingredients in this particular item (a cracker) are refined white flour, vegetable fat, and sugar (what is is about those three ingredients ?)
6. Bite-sized. Mini-sized. Snack-sized
   Many popular food items also have a mini-me version. Surely that's got to be good for the waistline?
   The Reality: You probably end up eating twice or three times as much of the mini-versions - because - hey - they're so small! and easy to eat!
7. It's organic
   It's great to choose organic food over the non-organic counterpart - but organic candy? Or what about organic baked beans - complete with added sugar and 456mg of sodium.
   The Reality: 3,500 calories of organic food is still 3,500 calories.

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