Do you think the new 'Smart Choices' label will help people eat more healthily?

Do you really think that knowing how many calories in a portion is helpful, Ronaldinu? I find that a 'portion' is usually too small for me, anyway. I'm not a big eater, by any means, but I usually find that those 'two portion' ready meals are just about enough for one! As far as I can see, the 'Smart Choice' label is just another way of hiding the really useful and important information from people and, basically, a sneaky way of actually promoting some products which may not actually be any better for you. Since the labels will, presumably, only be used on highly processed food, where does that leave all the green vegetables, meat, organic foods and all the other low-process things that are actually better for you?

... and, of course, those people are like sheep led to the slaughter. All the labels are there for are to (1) pre-empt possible government restrictions which will be designed to protect our health and (2) to persuade people to buy highly processed food from large corporations whose main profit comes from processing the food. The branding may indicate that the food meets certain standards better than food which doesn't carry it (though I am unconvinced). It certainly DOES NOT mean that food with a green tick is better for you than fresh fruit, vegetables, meat or fish (which almost certainly won't carry the label).

I have to confess that I don't check every label (there are some things that I know already - like that cheese is high in sodium and usually very high in the wrong kind of fat, even if it says 'low fat'). I check expiration dates with glee, usually. The po-faced powers that be generally have a very generous margin and when something like tinned goods or fruit or fresh vegetables (and even meat) is knocked down to half price because of the date, I inspect it carefully and fill up my basket. I know that the fresh goods, at least, must be dealt with straight away but this adds excitement to the menu and, of course, once cooked, they can always be frozen. The sad thing about it is that the 'sell by' date principle has inevitably increased the overall price of food because the losses incurred by occasional overstocking and either throwing stuff out unnecessarily or selling it off cheap have to be recouped elsewhere.

Yes, I agree that gelatin is derived from animal skin and that they don't have to specify which animal. In fact it may be a mix of beef and pork gelatin which, of course, immediately disqualifies it for Jews and Muslims! Marshmallows should, by rights, have no animal product in them whatsoever. The name comes from a plant (a member of the Malvacea family) and originally meant that the candy/sweetmeat was made from the boiled roots of the Marsh Mallow, sugar and some flavoring (probably rose water). Gummy bears are, of course, a later invention. Eeek! Who wants to eat BEARS? (I do remember how we used to bite the heads off Jelly Babies - which are the same thing, really) with great relish! I am not bound by religious strictures about what meat I should or should not eat but I still wonder if all that goes into gelatin is really good to eat. The same stuff, after all, is used to make traditional wood glue!