Food manufacturers may wish to simplify the nutrition information on their printed labels after a survey found that many parents find them confusing.
Snack-maker CLIF Kid interviewed mums and dads of youngsters aged six to 12 and discovered that 42 per cent find food labels harder to follow than instructions for flat-packed furniture.
The same percentage said they did not know that calorie information on the side of packaging is based on recommended daily intakes for adults.
Meanwhile, 54 per cent of parents reported that they would prefer it if printed labels featured measurements in teaspoons rather than grams and 75 per cent admitted to finding it difficult to feed their children healthy snacks.
Registered dietitian Tara DelloIacono-Thies said: "Parents have good intentions but may not be giving their kids the right nutrition because they are uncertain about portion sizes and how to read nutrition labels."
Irish health minister James Reilly recently criticised what he called misleading packaging, pointing out that manufacturers often list calories per 30g instead of per pack.
Denny Bros Ltd, 10 November 2011
