Manufacturers have a legal duty to tell us exactly what's in our food but labelling is often confusing and difficult to read.

DO you really know what you're eating? Depends on how good your eyesight is. Manufacturers have a legal duty to tell us what's in the food they have produced. But as we all know, there are different ways of telling the same story. For people suffering from allergies it makes life extremely difficult - even dangerous.

But even for the rest of us, there are all sorts of pitfalls.

Do you know, off hand, for instance, how much fat is 'low'? What about three, five or ten per cent? Is 90 per cent fat free good? How much sugar is bad? What about fibre? Is sodium the same as salt? And how much protein is good?

Tricky, isn't it?

And all the time, our foods contain ever more fat and sugar. We're getting fatter. By 2020 one in three adults could be obese, with all the attendant problems.

So now the Government is considering making food manufacturers put health warnings on their packets such as 'High Fat' or 'High Sugar'.

Well, one company already does that. In a welter of confusing labelling, the Co-op is a beacon of good practice and a splendid example to everyone else.

Most supermarkets make a reasonable sort of stab at labelling. The information is there alright. But it's often in small print, so you're fishing for your specs in the supermarket aisle and causing a traffic jam while you peer at a label, especially if you have to work out sums and percentages while you're there...

Most flash the calories or fat content of their 'healthy' ranges. But otherwise it's difficult to judge the nutritional value of what you're buying unless you carry a mental check of what you should be eating. It is particularly important when you're buying ready meals as these can vary so much in the amount of fat and salt.

Marks & Spencer carry the contents right next to the guideline daily amounts - so you can see straight away that a Chinese meal might take up about 15 per cent of your calorie allowance but 60 per cent of your salt. But you still have to do the sums.

For instant information, the Co-op is already there. A quick glance at their labels and you don't have to bother with the small print or the sums, because they label the relevant ingredients high, medium or low. Brilliant.

They also put the nutritional information in decent size print on a clear white background so it's hard to miss.

The worst label we found in our random trawl was John West tuna - tiny gold print on a green background. You'd need to have the vision of Superman to sort that out. Chocolate bars are dreadful too - tiny print, invariably on the crease in the wrapping. They clearly don't want you to read how much fat or how many calories are in the bar.

So what is the point? If they think that meets the legal guidelines on labelling well all I can say - as my sons would say - is that they're having a laugh, aren't they?

If you want to know what you're eating, you've got to be able to read the label. What's more, you've got to be able to make sense of it, so many congratulations to the Co-op for showing how it should be done.

Let's hope the rest of them follow their example. Or we might think they have something to hide...

KELLOGG'S HONEY LOOPS AND CO-OP'S HONEY HOOPS

ALL the Kellogg's info is there - but in small print. Their top panel talks about "Sensible eating for a healthy lifestyle" with mentions of healthy bones, concentration etc. It also plugs the fact that Honey Loops are low fat. "Low fat foods are ideal for maintaining a healthy weight. Kellogg's Honey Loops contain no more than 3 per cent fat." Yes, but nowhere does it highlight the fact that they are actually 35 per cent sugar - which is an incredible proportion of sugar to feed to your child each morning. For every three spoonfuls of cereal they eat, more than one will be pure sugar. But they leave you to work that one out for yourself.

The Co-op's label, on the other hand, is nice and clear and easy to read and tells you instantly that yes, the cereal is low in fat, medium in fibre and warns that it is HIGH in sugar.

COCA-COLA, SAINBSURY'S CLASSIC COLA, CO-OP COLA

WITH Coca-Cola, the information is in among a welter of special offer promotions. Basic information. The legal minimum.

Sainbsury's Classic - clear label, easy to read, more information, including the caffeine count.

Co-op - all the above, plus a warning on caffeine amounts and also a warning to parents advising them to restrict sugary drinks for children and to get them to clean their teeth.

READERS' TIPS

BOUGHT any Jersey potatoes this year? Maurice Heslop tried to buy some in a number of Tesco stores but they only had them pre-packed at £2.99 a kilo. He was told that it is not the store policy to sell them loose.

So he and his wife went to Billingham market instead and bought some loose for £1.40 a kilo - less than half the price Easy to see the moral of this tale...

MORE on insurance... Last week we suggested getting plenty of quotes when renewing car insurance. A reader from Newton Aycliffe wrote to advise other readers to do the same with house insurance. They had insured with their mortgage, had a bad experience when they made a claim so decided to change - and discovered they could get insurance for £250 cheaper.

"When we came to cancel with our building society, we were told that apart from the usual £25 fee (which the new insurer will pay), we would also have to pay a £10 fee every year for the life of the mortgage - a charge which could be raised at any time."

Needless to say, they are now also considered taking their mortgage elsewhere too...

Safety First

PARENTS are risking their children's safety by putting them in wrongly fitted car seats or failing to use car seats at all, according to a survey.

The national survey of 2,000 parents by Mother & Baby Magazine found that 82 per cent of parents failed to fit their child car seats properly. Of those questioned, 64 per cent didn't know if they'd bought the right seat for their car and 12 per cent were using potentially lethal secondhand car seats. Eleven per cent admitted not bothering to buy a seat at all. The survey found that parents were no more vigilant when it came to their children travelling in other people's cars, with 55 per cent allowing them to do so without a car seat.

In a bid to reverse these statistics and reduce the high number of injuries and deaths of children travelling in cars, Mother & Baby Magazine is staging its 2004 National Car Seat Safety Roadshows at Halfords stores throughout the country. Expert car seat fitters will offer free checks on any make or model of car seat and show people how to fit them properly. The roadshow will be at Halfords at Team Valley, Gateshead, on Thursday, May 27.

Architecture and design advice under one roof

IF you've ever wanted to transform the interior of your house but haven't known where to start, Barker & Stonehouse may have the answer.

The furniture retailer is hosting a series of free architectural advice sessions for the public as part of the Architecture Week 2004 celebrations.

Architecture in Store, which is being run in conjunction with the Royal Institute of British Architects North-East, invites members of the public to either the Middlesbrough or Newcastle stores on June 19 to speak to architects about their interior plans.

Armed with pictures of their homes and a few ideas, they will be able to talk to some of the region's leading architects about design schemes.

James Barker, retail director at Barker and Stonehouse, says: "There is such an obvious correlation between architecture and interiors. both mediums encourage creativity, explore the many emotions related to our immediate surroundings and promite individuality.

"Architects in Store means customers are open to endless opportunities under one roof".

The free consultations will take place between 9.30am and 4.30pm.

Bouquets of the Week

Dear Sharon,

Recently I was out for the day and had a puncture outside Thirsk. My passenger, who is nearly blind, and I managed to change it between us, the first tyre I have ever changed. I was worried about the fitting, especially as I had a long journey the next day. I was a bit panicky, but in Northallerton, seeing Kwik Fit on Brompton Road, I dashed in just as they were closing.

Simon Humpleby and James Bolland were brilliant, checked my tyre fitting - correct but needed tightening, sorted out a new spare, checked all the other tyres and all so quick, efficient, helpful and friendly.

Following this, I even had a courtesy call checking to see everything was OK and could they improve the service. I was most impressed.

Miss S K Lawson, Guisborough

WELL done to Simon and James for being so efficient and pleasant with it. We're sending them a box of chocs. And well done to Miss Lawson for changing the tyre. And if you're a driver and don't know how to do it, maybe it's time you learnt...

MANY thanks to all who work in the Stroke Unit, Ward 4 in Bishop Auckland Hospital. Mrs Margery Crawford of South Pelaw was a patient there recently. "I must praise the doctors, nurses, physiotherapists and cleaning ladies who have given all they had to make sure I was well on the road to recovery. Never have I been treated so well in any hospital. It was a happy family. Thanks to all."

A bus driver recently had a round of applause from his passengers, writes Ian Taylor of Darlington. "The driver of the 23A, 22.10 bus from Darlington town centre on May 7 let off a very drunken passenger at Westmoreland Street. The passenger fell onto the pavement and into some bushes, losing his glasses. On seeing this, the driver left his seat, picked up the drunken man, found his glasses, put them on him and helped him on his way. On returning to his bus, the driver was given a round of applause for his good deed.

"Let's hope the bus company bosses appreciate what a decent chap they have working for them," says Mr Taylor.

* If you want to say a public thank you for good service or to a helpful neighbour, kind stranger or efficient business, then just write with all the details to Sharon Griffiths, Bouquet of the Week, The Northern Echo, Priestgate, Darlington, DL1 1NF.

Each week the person nominated in our main letter gets a real bouquet of flowers or a box of hand made chocolates from The Little Chocolate Shop in Leyburn. www.thelittlechocolateshop.co.uk