Dried fruit and candied fruit: finding added sugar
To choose dried fruit without added sugar, read the ingredients: “dried” on the front is not enough.
Shopping
What gets decided before the till: price per kilogram, pack size, dates, standards and shop own-brands. And separately, products whose recipe quietly changed.
Cheaper protein: what 20 g costs in different foods
To compare protein costs, divide the pack price by the protein it contains.
Glazed curd bars: comparing ingredients and portions
Compare glazed curd bars in two passes: read the curd base, coating and filling ingredients, then convert protein and calories to one bar.
Wholegrain bread: how to tell it apart from bran bread
Look for wholegrain flour or whole grain in the ingredients and check its position.
Crab sticks: what surimi means and how to read the label
Choose crab sticks using the label on the particular pack: the fish base, its proportion, the other ingredients and the nutrition information.
What is really in a “milk-containing product” with milk fat substitute
If a pack in Russia says “milk-containing product with milk fat substitute”, the regulation’s own definition allows up to half of its fat phase to be vegetable.
Muesli and granola: how much sugar is in them and what the ingredients tell you
A pack of muesli or granola will not tell you exactly how much added sugar it holds: the "sugars" line adds up everything, syrup and the sugar of dried fruit alike.
Ground meat in the store: what a standard allows inside and how to read the label
On a pack of ground meat (mince), some words are defined by a standard and tied to limits for protein and fat, and some are just wording.
Plombir, creamy and milk ice cream: what sets them apart and how many calories they have
In Russia and the Eurasian Economic Union the type of ice cream is set by its milk fat: milk ice cream has up to 7.
How to compare two products by their labels: six steps with a worked example
Two nutrition tables are comparable only when they describe the same weight, the same state of the product and the same units.
Net weight versus drained weight: what you buy along with the brine
A jar of food packed in liquid should show two weights: everything inside, and the food alone.
Nutritional yeast: where its protein and vitamin B12 come from
Nutritional yeast is dried, inactive yeast: it adds a savoury flavour but cannot raise dough.
Non-alcoholic beer: how much alcohol, calories, and sugar does it contain
A beverage is called non-alcoholic not when the alcohol content is zero, but when it does not exceed 0.
Canned fish: how natural, in oil, and in tomato sauce differ
Three inscriptions on a can — "natural", "in oil", and "in tomato sauce" — represent three different standards with different requirements.
Tvorog: how to distinguish it from a tvorog product
On the tvorog shelf, there are four different products, and the difference between them is specified in the regulation.
PFAS in the kitchen: pans, cups, and fast food boxes
The main pathway of PFAS into the body is not packaging, but fish and eggs, according to estimates by the European food safety agency.
Food packaging symbols: what each one actually means
Only two symbols are mandatory on packaging: the glass and fork, and the Mobius loop with a material code.
Gas-station snacks: how to log food quickly
At a gas station, there is no time to examine the shelf or weigh food.
Food in an unfamiliar supermarket: what to look for on the label
In an unfamiliar supermarket, a package can look entirely unreadable, but usually only the words are.
How to translate a product’s ingredients list into Russian
An ingredients list in a foreign language in a Russian shop means either a violation, a detached sticker, or a purchase made outside Russia.
Organic products: what it means by law
Of all the labels on packaging, "organic" is a rare case where the word is backed by a legal document.
How to store food at home
The expiration date on the package refers to an unopened pack under the specified conditions.
Nitrates in vegetables: how much and what to do about it
Nitrates are always present in vegetables: they are a form of nitrogen from which the plant builds protein.
Plant-based milk: how it differs from cow's milk
Plant-based beverages replace cow's milk in taste and in coffee, but not in composition.
Yogurt: how to choose based on ingredients
In the yogurt aisle, there are three different products with similar names, and the difference between them is defined by law, not by advertising.
Cheese: what "45% fat" means on the label
Cheese labeled "45%" does not contain 45 grams of fat per hundred, but rather about 27.
Bread or crispbread: which is actually lighter
People buy crispbread instead of bread, thinking it is lighter.
Product pages in online stores: what is missing
In a physical store, you can turn the packaging over in your hands.
Ready-to-eat food by weight: how to find calories without a label
Regulations require four lines on a deli salad container: name, production date, shelf life, and storage conditions.
Where there is more sugar than in cola: an analysis of 34,000 products on Russian shelves
We took an open dataset from Open Food Facts—four and a half million products—and calculated how much sugar is in what is sold in Russia.
What ends up in a sports nutrition tub besides the powder
In Russia, sports nutrition is sold as dietary supplements, and this defines everything else: they are not tested for efficacy, and the composition on the label is a manufacturer's claim, not the result of an analysis.
Protein cookies, cottage cheese, and bars: how much protein is actually inside
The word "protein" on packaging is not regulated, but "source of protein" and "high protein" are, and they have specific requirements.
Diabetic products: what changes in them besides the price
The label "for diabetic nutrition" describes one property of a product — it contains fewer simple sugars than its standard counterpart.
Are restaurants required to list calories on the menu
Calorie counts are usually absent from menus, leading to the natural conclusion that they are not required.
Frozen foods: when they are just as good as fresh
Freezing is often seen as a compromise: fresh is better, and frozen is only for when there is no choice.
Packaging and freshness: what vacuum, modified atmosphere, and inflated bags do
Packaging does more than just hold a product—it is part of the shelf life.
Food standards in different countries: why the same product varies
The same brand in two countries may have a different composition, and this is not always about cost-cutting.
Expiration dates: "best before" and "use by" are not the same
The date on packaging is perceived as a boundary between "safe" and "unsafe," although it means different things for different products.
Private label products: what they are and when to buy them
A store-brand product costs 20–40% less than a name-brand equivalent sitting right next to it on the shelf.
Shrinkflation: the package got smaller, but the price stayed the same
A liter of milk has turned into 900 milliliters, a dozen eggs into nine, and a chocolate bar has shrunk from 100 grams to 85.
Chocolate and confectionery bars: what changes when cocoa butter is replaced
Cocoa butter is the most expensive part of chocolate, and an entire category of products that look indistinguishable from it has been built around its replacement.
Condensed milk and "milk-containing product": where is the line drawn
Condensed milk is a product made of two ingredients: milk and sugar.
Butter and spread: how to distinguish them and why they are different products
Butter and spread sit side by side, look the same, and cost different amounts.
How the composition of sausage has changed and what to look for in it now
Sausage is the most convenient product for analyzing how recipes change: the changes are documented by percentages right on the packaging.
GOST and TU: what is actually behind these letters
GOST is often read as a mark of quality, while TU is seen as permission to do whatever one wants.
How the composition of Coca-Cola has changed: cocaine, sugar, and corn syrup
Coca-Cola is a rare case where changes in the composition of a mass-market product are documented and span more than a hundred years.
What to look for in an ingredient list in ten seconds
Reading an entire ingredient list at the shelf is impossible: the print is small, and there is no time.
Price per kilogram: the only comparable figure on a price tag
There are two numbers on a price tag.
Promotions and yellow price tags: how they work and when they are worth it
A yellow price tag works not because the price is low, but because it is high-contrast: the eye finds it before it reads the number.
From reading to doing. All of it starts in one place — knowing what is on the plate. Photograph it and the calories and macros appear on their own.
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This article is for general information. It is not medical advice, a diagnosis, or a prescription for treatment or a diet, and it does not replace a consultation with your doctor. If you have a health condition, are pregnant, take medication, or follow a diet prescribed to you, decisions about food belong with your doctor.
Figures from regulations, guidelines and studies are given as they stood when this article was prepared and may since have changed; check them against the primary sources. This article is not advertising, an offer, or individual advice, and neither the author nor the site owner is responsible for decisions taken on the basis of it.