Have you ever picked up a packaged food product, drawn in by the vibrant image of fresh fruit on the label, thinking it must be a healthier choice? Well, that is not entirely true. The food industry is full of deceptive marketing tactics, where companies use misleading packaging and labelling to make their products seem more nutritious, natural, or appealing than they are.
Industrialist Harsh Goenka recently shed light on this issue through a video on the microblogging site X (formerly Twitter). "How our food companies are taking us for a ride! I was truly shocked by these revelations," he wrote.
He shared a snippet from vlogger Raj Shamani's podcast, where health and nutrition influencer Revant Himatsingka, aka FoodPharmer, spoke about the deceptive strategies food companies use to mislead consumers.
Taking an example of almond and cashew cookies, Revant said that while consumers might expect the product to have 50-60 per cent nuts, it only carries 1.8 per cent almonds and 0.4 per cent cashews. Next up, the content creator talked about a biscuit that was advertised as a wholewheat cookie but only had 19.5 per cent wholewheat in it as opposed to 52 per cent refined flour.
Also Read: Viral Now: Food Pharmer Reveals He Helped Sudha Murty For Research On Food Adulteration
Another product, which is being sold as a herb cookie, claims to have ashwagandha, turmeric, tulsi, giloy and amla (gooseberry) but all of these ingredients made up only 0.1 per cent of the product, as per the label on the packet
Talking about tomato ketchup, Revant said, "Here, in the back, it's a sign. This is only a brand name/trademark and does not represent its true nature."
He added, "The point is that any food product you take, there is so much fake marketing going on, misleading marketing. And this is a big issue which I feel you know and people should be careful because this is how our body is, this is how our health is, this is why we are going to go to the hospital."
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Making healthy food choices may be difficult, particularly when the common consumer is up against a multibillion-dollar marketing industry that is skilled at deceiving customers and selling goods. However, there are still a few easy measures that consumers can take to make wise choices regarding their food. Avoiding processed foods completely and focusing on whole foods and plant-based meals would be one of the greatest methods to make sure you're eating a healthy diet. If choosing processed food, pay attention to the ingredients list and ignore all claims made on the front of the packaging.
Eat healthy, stay fit!