When you go to the grocery store, you may have noticed that there are a lot of digital labels on different products. These digital labels help give us valuable information about what is inside and if it’s safe for consumption. Learning how to read these labels can be very important in helping make healthy decisions when shopping for groceries.
What are Digital Labels?
There is a new type of label that you’re seeing on more and more products; it’s called a “digital label.” These labels can be read by smartphone cameras. They provide information like whether the product contains genetically modified organisms, or whether it contains allergens. The next time you’re shopping for groceries, keep an eye out for these digital labels.
How to Read Digital Labels?
When reading a digital label, you may notice that there are many different parts of the label. The following is an explanation of each one:
- Product Name: Terms that identify this product, such as “Cereal” or “Juice”. These will help you quickly identify what the food is when scanning your pantry for breakfast.
- Agency Name: The name of the agency that certified the product. This is important to find out whether or not the producer has undergone certification by a third party.
- Name and address of producer: The name and address of the producer. This can tell you where the product was manufactured, which is important for areas that have high food safety standards.
- Net Quantity/Net Weight: The weight of the product, which is important for products that are sold by weight rather than volume.
- Nutrition Facts table: This contains information about the number of grams present in serving size and nutritional facts such as fat content or carbohydrate content.
- Special information: Anything that is not described above, such as the number of servings per package or whether or not there are allergens or added sugars.
From these pieces of information, you can know exactly what is in the food item and how to store it.
What Are the Benefits of Digital Labels?
Labeling systems allow an easy way for consumers to determine what is in the food they are buying. The benefits of using this type of labeling are:
- Too Long Ingredient Lists
Digital labels cut out this step by displaying the ingredients as text on the device that reads the barcode. The consumer can quickly select which product is best for them depending on its ingredient list. This also allows for people with allergies to make sure a product doesn’t contain certain ingredients they are sensitive to.
- All Allergens Are Listed On Digital Labels
A product must display if it is made with peanuts or contains some peanut flavoring. Products can also contain a wide variety of different nuts and oils including almonds, cashew, walnut, pecans, and soy nut.
- A Digital Label Lists All Nutritional Facts
A consumer might wish to pick up one brand over another because it has fewer calories or less fat. The consumer can check the values on each brand’s label to find out which one is best for their needs.
- Food Waste Can Be Reduced
If a person decides they don’t want to purchase an item that was not clearly labeled, then the store will end up with more of that product and have fewer resources to sell, which increases their costs.
- Digital Labels Provide Up-To-Date Information
If the time has passed since an item was packaged, then ingredients or nutritional values could change slightly or greatly depending on what happened during shipping or storage. A digital label keeps the information up-to-date so the information is accurate.
Conclusion
The digital label is the unique identifier that helps us differentiate one product from another in a world of information overload. To make sure you’re buying something of high quality, look out for these features when reading the digital label.