Head down the health food aisle of your nearest supermarket and these words jump out at you: "raw!"; "activated!"; "high in energy!"; "superfood!"
They are the buzzwords of the moment, but are they really just another way of saying something else?
A review of typical "health food aisle" snack products by public health campaign LiveLighter has found products in the aisle are not necessarily better or healthier.
Instead, it found the words used in packaging and advertising were often just alternative ways of saying "high in kilojoules, sugar, saturated fat or salt".
"I don't know whose definition of health food these products were," said LiveLighter dietitian and campaign manager Alison McAleese.
"Because I can't see any particular health benefit to shopping in that section, unless you are shopping there for allergies and intolerances."
LiveLighter selected products found in a typical supermarket health food aisle, including a snack bar, brown rice chips, apricot bites, an energy ball and lentil crisps.
Comparing each product with a like or similar product from a regular supermarket aisle, they found the snack displayed in the health food aisle often cost more, with less nutritional value than an alternative snack.
For example a five-pack of Golden Days Apricot Bites, from the health food aisle, cost $0.85 per serve.
Over in the regular aisles, a recommended 25g serve of Robern Delightfuls Apricot Indulgence cost $0.38.
"The Apricot Bites are 50 per cent apricot and 50 per cent other stuff ... I'm unsure of their reason for being in the 'health food' aisle," said Ms McAleese.
"The Apricot Indulgence are no better with only 40 per cent apricots. Worryingly they are 72 per cent sugar. Neither of these are a 'health food'. Treat them like a lolly."
"The health food aisle is designed for customers who require dietary solutions for allergies or intolerances, whole foods ... or the latest trending ingredients and snacks," a Woolworths spokesman said.
Choice spokesman Tom Godfrey said food companies often used phrases such as "healthy choice", "natural" and "gluten-free" to capitalise on a consumer's desire to buy a healthy product.
"If you are watching your salt, sugar and saturated fat intake, look for the Health Stars and read the ingredients list and nutritional panel carefully," he said.
LiveLighter also compared a 49g peanut Bounce Natural Energy Ball, found in the health food section for $3 a serve.They declared it "high in kilojoules," with "added sugars and no fruit," despite containing 29 per cent peanuts and some sesame seeds.
In the regular aisle, a recommended 30g serve of date and cacao Sunbeam Energy Bites cost $1 per serve.
LiveLighter found the latter would be a better choice as they were 80 per cent dates, but noted that dates were "high in energy and sugar".
"For $0.32 a serve, a piece of wholegrain toast with a thin peanut butter spread is a much more filling and nutritious snack," Ms McAleese said.
Bounce Australia chief executive Stephen Hamilton disagreed that "high in energy" also meant "high in kilojoules".
"The energy in our peanut ball is from the 29 per cent protein content ... the sugars present in our peanut ball are very low in fructose and the total size is portioned controlled."
Ms McAleese said the true health food aisle of any supermarket was fruit and vegetable section.
"In packaged snacks consumers should look for products with less than 3g of saturated fat per 100g, less than 15g of sugar per 100g and less than 400mg of sodium (salt) per 100g," she said.
