Healthy choices may not be, says Choice

Crafty marketing ploys are tricking consumers into paying premium prices for poor food choices, consumer group Choice says.

Choice analysed the nutritional profile of 117 products marketing themselves as healthy and found a mixed bag when it came to assessing their health performance.

The group said products marketed as healthy often received the same health rating as a regular product but they came with a hefty price.

Phrases such as `healthy choice', `natural', `gluten free' and `no added sugar' trick customers into believing a product is healthy when it can be higher in salt, sugar and saturated in fat than a product without them, Choice spokesman Tom Godfrey says.

"It's a distraction on packaging so that people make poor choices," he told AAP.

"Unfortunately, some of the biggest and much loved brands use marketing messages to confused and mislead consumers about what they are eating."