A rant

That's a major problem for me, too! I take reading glasses to the store with me but sometimes, with the print so small and everything so close together, I still have a hard time reading it. My solution for a lot of products is to look them up on the internet. I just enter "(product) ingredients" and can usually get a text of the contents. Sometimes I copy/paste into Word and make the print bigger--you can use NotePad if you don't have Word. It should NOT be this difficult to read a package!! But it is, and we have to be creative if we want to be informed and not poison ourselves or our livestock and beloved pets.

ever since i reached the ripe age of forty a few years ago, i've made it a point to have a pair of reading glasses on my bag. these have come handy in so many instances. i have a hard time reading the small prints on most products. most of the times i don't even care to read the labels but when i do, i take my glasses out and voila!!! problem solved...

I saw a program comparing dog food. The highest price one was a rip off. The lowest cost one and the middle cost one were the best. I like the middle cost food for my two dogs. I suggest you get a pair of reading glasses or a magnified glass. Then take this with you when you go out shopping. I eat a vegan diet. Thinking about people's food. I like a label which says "suitable for vegetarians and vegans". You could give any unused cat food to an animal charity. Yes, the chickens might eat cat food perhaps.

I know what you're saying!And I've wondered why senior's medications are always on the bottom shelf at the Pharmacy and printed in small letters, while the aspirin and other hang-over medicine is right at eye level and always in large print. How long must we live to get some recognition in Our World? If it wasn't for the seniors the younger generations would not exist!

Well this is a pet peeve of mind too. At age 56 I can't see the small print but my glasses are for distance. I use a magnifying glass when I'm home and can't read the small print. If we are in the stores I have my husband read it for me. Maybe you need to carry with the magnifying glass in the store so you could read the labels. I know its so annoying but the manufacturer don't seem to care about us older people with eyesight problems. Over the counter medicines too are a problems for me.

My rants are labels on the bottom shelf of supermarkets that are at floor level, and those that are on a shelf far above your head. Now if you wear bifocals... Yes, you guessed! Grovel on your knees, or fall over backwards trying to raise your head high enough.

how about small print on computer screens?

Chicken will eat ANYTHING.

I agree with you about the small print on labels. I have an especially hard time with the expiration date stamped on the bottom of canned food.

The best thing for you to do is either bring a good pair of reading glasses or bring a magnifying glass with you shopping. I know what you mean about the small print. I also know that the older I get the harder it is to read those labels. I also think they should make some major changes to how they post their information on packages.

I usually read food labels when buying food products. I agree that many products have very small texts, thus making it hard for people with poor eyesight to read it well especially older people. You could try searching the product online, and probably you'll find the necessary ingredients and other info regarding that food product or better you could ask a staff in that grocery or supermarket to assist you, the staff can read it probably for you.

Take a small magnifying glass along with you. I have one that has a small cover fold over the glass and when pulled out acts as a handle.

Hi Savypat I know it too it is a problem it can be very hard to read anything because it does seem to get tougher to read and sometimes it is just age. I know my husband has always had good vision and now he will not go any where without his reading glasses.

That is very true. There are many labels with such a small print where I could not read them even I wear my glasses. I needed my children to read it out for me on several occasions. .

I think some manufacturers count on most of the buyers not taking the time to read the ingredients, in our fast paced lives, how often do we actually have the time whilst busy shopping to read all the ingredients in the food? I am careful to look at the sell by dates, but sometimes even they are hard to find or hardly readable.

I completely agree with your rant on labeling of our food and the size of the text isn't the only problem. If there is a small enough of an amount of an ingredient then companies aren't required to put it on the label. A good example of this is hydrogenated oils, some products contain such a small amount of these oils that companies aren't required to put them on the label. This is a problem because hydrogenated oils are incredibly bad for you and can stay in your digestive system for up to sixty days. I also don't like how companies can just write natural flavor or artificial flavor and not have to label all of what that is. There is a store in my town as well that is a discount store that sells some non-perishable food that has gone past its expiration date. The problem is that they often put their price stickers right over the top of the ingredients list. This really irritates me because I always read what's in the ingredients before I buy anything.

I bought a small magnify glass that I carry with me. I bought it so I can see the eye of the needle when I am threading my machine, but I have found other uses for it. Randy is diabetic and I need to read the labels to make sure that there is not a lot of sugars and that they are low in carbohydrates. I would buy a small magnify glass and keep it with you when you go shopping.

It is problem every where. Manufactures printed all informations in small fonts. I think we must be bye product of reputed manufactures. It is not possible to carry magnifying glass every where.

I can understand what you mean. I already wear glasses and yet keep on squinting on those labels trying to figure what is written on the back of the label.

I try to buy products with the least amount of ingredients.