How healthy are your snack? Almost half of food labelled as natural is unhealthy 


  • Public health group LiveLighter warns shoppers about product labeling 
  • Almost half the supermarket products with the word natural are unhealthy
  • The products were found to be high in saturated fats, sugar and/or oil
  • Three in five Australians would purchase a product with the word ‘natural’ 

Martha Azzi For Daily Mail Australia

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Three in five Australian adults are more likely to purchase supermarket food labelled as ‘natural’ even though 47 per cent of the the products were considered unhealthy.

The ‘natural’ products were found to be high in saturated fat, sugar and/or salt, a study by public health group, LiveLighter, revealed.

The word ‘natural’ is not regulated and as a result it might simply mean there are few ingredients in the product, is made locally or is less-processed, reported the Sydney Morning Herald.

Almost half of all supermarket products labelled as ‘natural’ are in fact not healthy for not falling into a core group listed by the Australian Guide to Healthy Eating

Muesli bars by Nice and Natural, tomato ketchup by Heinz, lollies by The Natural Confectionary, Altimate natural ice cream wafers and chips by the Natural Chip Company, were some of the products noted for their emphasis on the word.

Campaign manager for LiveLighter Victoria, Alison McAleese?, said the words ‘natural, nature or nature’s’ cannot be taken at face value.

‘Natural’ is used over such a broad range of products, it is not a helpful way of determining the value of a product,’ she said.

Ms McAleese also warned shoppers to avoid linking the word ‘natural’ to healthy and instead look at the ingredients on the products which are listed by order of quantity. 

‘If you see sugar, fat or salt in the first few ingredients, you know it could be unhealthy.’  

Muesli bars are also generally labelled as ‘natural’ and Campaign manager for LiveLighter Victoria, Alison McAleese warns shoppers to look at the ingredients

Heinz, Organic Tomato Ketchup, and Ajitas Vege Chips, were highlighted by public health group, LiveLighter, as products with the word healthy 

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