[Back to Inside]

By Joe Kleinsasser

Today’s pre-packaged foods come with a higher price tag than food prepared from scratch, but people are willing to pay for it.

Ann Hunter, an assistant professor in public health sciences and a registered dietician, says there are some things the health-conscious consumer should look for when buying pre-packaged food.

For example, check the nutritional content to see if it is a whole food – real cheese versus a cheese substitute.

"There tends to be a higher content of additives and we don’t know what the long-term effect will be," says Hunter. "And there’s a higher content of items such as sodium to make the product taste good."

You don’t need to feel guilty for liking pre-packaged foods. In fact, Hunter says many are good for you and have been around for some time.

"When we talk about pre-packaged foods we’re not really talking just about Lunchables and current things. We’re talking about convenience foods which include canned fruits, canned soups, bread and most of the products that we actually use today."