Back of the pack first: what I no longer buy after more than two decades in the food industry

I spent more than two decades in the food industry. I saw how recipes are made. And why. Today, every time I shop, I read the back of the pack first. In this article I show you five things I no longer buy, what I buy instead and which names hide sugar on the ingredients list.

Why the back tells you more than the front

The front is advertising. The back is required by law. On the front you read words like “light”, “protein” or “with wholegrain”. On the back you read what is really inside.

One simple rule from EU food law helps. Under Article 18 of the EU Food Information Regulation, ingredients are listed in descending order of weight at the time they were used in production. What comes first is what there is most of. What comes last, least of. Many other countries use the same rule.

Once you know this, you will never look at a shelf the same way again. Promise.

Five things I no longer buy

I don’t avoid them out of fear. I avoid them because I know what is done for price, shelf life and taste. And because for each of them there is a swap that is no extra work.

1. Light products

In the EU, a product may only be called “light” if a nutrient or the energy content is reduced by at least 30 percent compared with similar products. But if fat is missing, taste and fullness are missing too. This is often made up for with sugar, starch or thickeners.

My swap: the original. Enjoy it mindfully, just a little less.

2. Fruit yoghurt

In 2024, a German consumer centre checked twenty fruit yoghurts. The top one had 12.7 grams of sugar per 100 grams. In a 250-gram pot, that works out at more than ten sugar cubes. One pot can contain up to five different kinds of sugar.

My swap: plain or Greek yoghurt with fresh berries. If you like it sweeter, start by mixing half and half.

3. “Protein” snacks

The front says protein in big letters. The back often lists sweeteners, flavourings and binders. Protein matters. But it does not have to come from a bar.

My swap: a handful of nuts, quark, cottage cheese or a boiled egg.

4. Ready-made sauces

Sugar, starch, flavouring, flavour enhancers. Often all in one jar. Plus salt in amounts you would never use at home.

My swap: tomatoes, olive oil, garlic, herbs. Ready in ten minutes. Cook double, and your next meal is already there.

5. Cereal “with wholegrain”

“With wholegrain” does not mean “made from wholegrain”. It only means there is some wholegrain in it. How much, only the ingredients list will tell you.

My swap: plain oats. Add nuts, seeds and fruit. Now you have a muesli where you know what is in it.

No sugar on the label? Keep reading.

“No sugar? Great, I’ll take it.” That is exactly what the front of the pack is counting on. German consumer centres checked 276 foods and found 70 other names for sweet ingredients besides sugar. If several of them are used, each one moves further down the list. The sugar looks smaller than it is.

These are the ten names you will see most often:

1. Glucose syrup. Sounds technical. Is sugar. Often in sweets, baked goods and ready meals.
2. Dextrose. Another word for glucose.
3. Maltodextrin. This is where it gets interesting. By law, only single and double sugars count as “sugar” in the nutrition table. Maltodextrin is made of longer chains, so it does not count. In your body it still turns into sugar quickly.
4. Invert sugar. Keeps cakes moist.
5. Fructose. Sounds like fruit. It means isolated fruit sugar.
6. Sucrose. Plain table sugar.
7. Barley malt extract. Sounds healthy. Still sweetens. Often in muesli and organic products.
8. Agave syrup. Sounds natural. Is mostly fructose.
9. Fruit juice concentrate. Sweetens without being called “sugar”. A classic in “no added sugar” products.
10. Lactose. Milk sugar. Also found in sausages and ready-made sauces.

One more note on “no added sugar”: it does not mean sugar-free. In the consumer centres’ check, an organic ketchup with exactly this label had 20 percent sugar. It was sweetened with apple syrup.

How I shop today

Once a week I go to the farmers’ market. My goal is twenty different kinds of fruit and vegetables in my basket. I cook big batches. What is left goes into the freezer in portions.

At the supermarket I mainly buy dairy. Greek yoghurt, quark, cottage cheese. And for anything with an ingredients list, I read the back first.

It’s about enjoying, not banning

This is not about never eating anything sweet again. It is about knowing what you eat. Then you decide for yourself. And enjoy it mindfully.

Start with a single swap. Just one. After a few weeks it will feel normal. Then comes the next one.

Sources

1. Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011 (food information to consumers), Article 18 list of ingredients (German): https://gesetze.legal/eu/vo_eu_2011_1169/18
2. Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011, Annex I no. 8, definition of “sugars” (German): https://gesetze.legal/eu/vo_eu_2011_1169/anhang_i
3. Regulation (EC) No 1924/2006 on nutrition and health claims, Annex (“reduced”, “light”): https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/reg/2006/1924/oj/deu
4. Verbraucherzentrale: too much sugar in fruit yoghurts, market check 2024 (German): https://www.verbraucherzentrale.de/wissen/lebensmittel/gesund-ernaehren/zu-viel-zucker-in-fruchtjoghurts-13039
5. Federation of German Consumer Organisations: hidden sweeteners, market check (German): https://www.vzbv.de/sites/default/files/downloads/Versteckte-Suessmacher-Marktcheck-Kurzfassung-Juli-2013.pdf