A:  In the early 13th century, the king of England proclaimed the first food regulatory law, the Assize of Bread, which prohibited bakers from mixing ground peas and beans into bread dough. Ever since, it has been a cat and mouse game between the food industry and the public. In the U.S., food regulation dates back to early colonial times. In 1862, President Lincoln launched the Department of Agriculture and the Bureau of Chemistry, the predecessor of the Food and Drug Administration. Fast forward to 2011 - the Grocery Manufacturers Association announces Nutrition Keys, a new front-of-pack labeling system. The problem is that with so much information, first causality is common sense.
 

Increasingly, the food with technological manipulation becomes more complicated, and to decipher what is in it is getting more difficult to comprehend. This causes decision paralysis, and we end up with either a wrong choice or familiar default.

Lets us train ourselves to be better label detectives.

What is in a name?
Sugar is labeled under different names. High fructose corn syrup, corn syrup solids, sucrose, dextrose, evaporated sugar cane, cane sugar, and evaporated cane juice (which is refined sugar and not actual nutritious cane juice) are all the same thing - a fast-acting sugar that is devoid of nutrients, but these sugars can be present in the same product and listed as separate ingredients under all of those names and more. Ingredients have to be listed with the highest concentrations first according to FDA regulations, so spacing them out in this way lets them be shifted further down the list and thus appear to be present in lower quantities.
Solution: Avoid processed food as much as possible.

Having our cake and eating it too?
Another problem arises when food manufacturers understate the serving size. Breyer's ice-cream serving size is half a cup (calories: 130). Who eats half a cup of ice-cream?
Solution: Look at the serving size carefully.

Find me if you can!
FDA regulations allow labels to say 0% trans fat as long as trans fat is less than 0.5 gm.  Eating different processed foods can add up trans fat quickly.

Imposters everywhere
Fiber imposters like chicory root in fiber bars do not have the same beneficial effects as whole grain and soluble fibers. Instead, food makers are adding something called "isolated fibers" made from chicory root or purified powders of polydextrose and other substances that haven't been shown to lower blood sugar or cholesterol.
Solution: Smart label reading; opt for fruits, vegetables, and whole grains as your fiber source.

Looks can be deceptive
Whole wheat and whole grain. Many whole wheat breads are brown due to the addition of ammonium sulphate, which nourishes yeast and makes bread look more brown. Many products make a whole grain claim even though they often contain refined flour as the first ingredient and the amount of whole grains are minimal.
Solution: Unless you see grains on the bread, it is low-fiber bread.

Strengthens your immune system
Through "clever wordsmithing," food companies can skirt FDA rules about health claims and give consumers the impression that a product will ward off disease.

Made with real fruit
Often the "real fruit" is found in small quantities and isn't even the same kind of fruit pictured on the package. You may see lots of pictures of fresh oranges and pineapple. But the main ingredients are corn syrup, sugar, and white grape juice concentrate.
Solution: Buy a juicer, it will pay its cost in a few weeks.