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'Contains real fruit."

"Made with whole grains."

"Trans-fat free."

You can find nutrition claims like these in just about every aisle of the grocery store. They're stamped on cereal boxes, frozen dinner packages, tubs of ice cream, even bags of cookies and potato chips. All in the hopes of convincing you these foods are nutritious and worth adding to your grocery cart.

Yet, shopping for "healthy" foods is not always as straightforward as you may think. Some claims can mislead you into buying a product packed with unhealthy ingredients such as high-fructose corn syrup, hydrogenated oil and sodium. You need to look beyond the front of the package to get the whole story.

Company-driven "better for you" logos such as Blue Menu (Loblaws), Smart Spot (PepsiCo), and Sensible Solution (Kraft) also coax health-conscious consumers into buying a product.

Such labelling programs are intended to help you choose products that have met some designated criteria, but companies don't use the same nutrient criteria when evaluating their products. Some criteria focus on the presence of a vitamin, mineral or dietary fibre. Others concentrate on the absence of calories, fat, cholesterol or added sugars. And a few products bear a logo because they deliver a functional benefit, such as hydration, from ingredients that are proven to be effective.

Kraft Dinner, Jell-O Light, Gatorade, and Diet Pepsi all boast healthy choice logos, but health foods they're not.

Even the Heart and Stroke Foundation's Health Check symbol, which is displayed on more than 1,500 product packages, has been criticized. An article published earlier this month in the Canadian Medical Association Journal raised objections to the program citing that, in some cases, it endorses foods that are high in sugar or sodium, or that contain red meat or refined flours.

The Health Check program was created in 1999 by the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada as a means of quickly spotting foods in grocery stores and restaurants that meet nutrient criteria based on Canada's Food Guide. To participate, food companies submit their products for evaluation. If the product meets criteria including reduced fat, saturated fat, cholesterol and sodium, the company pays the foundation an annual licensing fee to display the red-and-white Health Check logo on its product package.

Some contend Health Check criteria are not strict enough when it comes to sugar and sodium. For instance, the Health Check-approved Thai chicken wrap at Boston Pizza serves up 1,180 milligrams of sodium, one-half of the daily upper sodium limit (2,300 milligrams). Stouffer's meat lasagna - branded with a Health Check symbol on its package - delivers 950 milligrams of sodium per serving and nearly 40 per cent of a day's worth of saturated plus trans fats.

Vachon's Hop & Go Apple Cinnamon Homestyle Bars are endorsed by Health Check despite the fact that each bar contains 14 grams of added sugar (3½ teaspoons' worth).

While Health Check is undoubtedly the strictest package-labelling program in Canada, the Heart and Stroke Foundation is taking steps to tighten the criteria further. Earlier this month, it released new guidelines for added sugars and trans fat to match revisions to the 2007 food guide. Participating companies whose products don't meet these stricter criteria have until the end of 2009 to comply. All new products being evaluated for Health Check must meet the new criteria immediately.

The Heart and Stroke Foundation is also gradually reducing the amount of allowable sodium to support Blood Pressure Canada's recommendation of reducing Canadians daily sodium intake to 1,500 milligrams by 2020.

You need to look past the logo - or good-for-you claim - to the nutrition facts box to get the entire story. Only here will you find the amounts of total fat, saturated and trans fats, cholesterol, sodium, carbohydrate, fibre, sugars, protein and so on for a specified serving.

Don't assume that a product labelled "whole grain" or "multigrain" will also be high in fibre or low in sugar. The first ingredient in General Mills' whole grain Reese's Puffs is whole grain corn, but next on the list are sugar, Reese's creamy peanut butter (more sugar), dextrose (more sugar) and corn syrup. Per serving, this "whole grain" cereal provides 12 grams of sugar (three teaspoons' worth) and only one gram of fibre.

Foods that boast a whole grain claim may actually contain only a little whole grain. Tostitos multigrain tortilla chips lists corn, vegetable oil, corn starch and sugar as the top four ingredients followed by whole grains. Seems there's more refined starch and sugar than whole grains in this snack. To boost your intake, look for a whole grain to be listed as the first ingredient.

Foods labelled "reduced fat" won't always be low in saturated fat or sodium. For example, President's Choice Blue Menu's reduced-fat deep-dish chicken pie has less total fat per serving than the original version (17 grams compared with 40 grams), but it still provides one-third of a day's worth of saturated plus trans fats along with 740 milligrams of sodium.

And "real fruit" may not always be that real. Turns out the real fruit filling in Kellogg's Nutri-Grain cereal bars is made from sugar and fruit preserves (more sugar). No wonder each bar packs 14 grams of sugar and only one gram of fibre.

Finally, products that don't carry a logo or nutritional claim are not necessarily poorer nutritional choices. Bottom line: Read labels to get the whole story.

Leslie Beck, a Toronto-based

dietitian at the Medcan Clinic,

is on CTV's Canada AM every Wednesday. http://www.lesliebeck.com.

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Leslie Beck's recipe

Get a burst of flavour - and nutrition - on your dinner table tonight with Leslie Beck's blueberry and roasted walnut spinach salad. Find the recipe at globeandmail.com/life

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Cracking the code

To make a claim, products must meet nutrient criteria set out by Health Canada. Here are a few common claims and what they mean (per serving):

Sodium Free

Less than five milligrams sodium.

Cholesterol Free

Less than two milligrams cholesterol and low in saturated fat; includes a restriction about trans fat (not necessarily low in total fat).

Low Fat

Three grams of fat or less.

Low in Saturated Fat

Two grams or less saturated and trans fat combined.

Trans-fat free

Less than 0.2 grams trans fat and low in saturated fat.

Calorie-reduced

At least 25 per cent fewer calories than the regular version.

Reduced Fat

At least 25 per cent less fat than the regular version.

High in Fibre

At least four grams fibre.

Light

Allowed only on foods that are either "reduced in fat" or "reduced in calories." If it refers to taste or texture, this must be

explained on the label

(e.g. "light in colour").

Source: Health Canada