FOOD LABELLINGYear 10- Food Technology

By Miss Y Cochrane

• Food labels provide information to help us make healthierand safer food choices. They;

– List nutrients– Warn us if a food contains food allergens– Inform us if the food is fresh or out of date– Explain how to store, prepare or cook the food we buy– List product ingredients– Give us information on where the food was produced and by which

company• Essentially, food labels are there to provide us with basic

information about what is in the food we eat and how best to handle it.

WHY DO WE NEED A FOOD LABEL?

• The Food Standards Code states that all food labels must identify the following information:

– Name and description of the food– Identification of the ‘lot’ number (Food Recall information)– Name and Australian street address of the supplier of food (Food Recall Information)– List of ingredients– Date – Nutrition information panel (NIP)– Country of origin of the food– Warning and advisory statements

WHY DO WE NEED A FOOD LABEL?

• Food delivered packaged at the customer’s request, for example home delivered pizza.

• Food sold at a fund raising event for charitable purposes like a school fete.

• Individual serve packages that are sold in a large package such as a 12 pack of corn chips, although the information has to be on the outer package.

• Food made and packaged on the premises from where it is sold, for example at a bakers.

WHICH FOODS DON’T REQUIRE A LABEL?

• Unpackaged foods such as fresh meat, fruit, vegetables and nuts or food sold in a restaurant.

• Food packaged in the presence of the customer, for example at a delicatessen or a take-away food shop.

• Packaged whole or cut fresh fruit and vegetables (but not bean sprouts) where you can see the fruit or vegetables through the package.

Not all foods have to be labelled. Here are a few exceptions:

FOOD LABELS AND THE NUTRITION FACTS

• Ingredients are listed from greatest in weight to the smallest

• No information on a label must mislead consumers

• Food names must describe the true nature of the food

• The nutrition information panel (NIP) on food labels helps you compare important aspects of different products

FOOD LABELS AND THE NUTRITION FACTS

• The nutrition information panel helps you compare the nutrient profile of similar products and choose the one that suits your needs.

FOOD LABELS AND THE NUTRITION FACTS

• If you want to compare two similar products it’s best to check if they have the same serving sizes first

• If not, then compare the nutrient content (e.g. grams of fat) using the Quantity per 100g column to ensure you’re comparing like (100g) with like

FOOD LABELS AND THE NUTRITION FACTS

• The following are small amounts per 100g:

• 2g of sugars• 3g of fat• 0.5g of fibre• 20mg sodium.

FOOD LABELS AND THE NUTRITION FACTS

The nutrients are displayed in a standard format, providing amount per serve and per 100g (or 100ml if liquid).

• The following are large amounts per 100g:

• 30g of sugars• 20g of fat• 3g of fibre• 600mg of sodium.

WHERE DO YOU FIND INFORMATION ON A LABEL?

• Click on the link below to see a description of the components of a label.

Interactive Label

Which of these foods has the higher amount of carbohydrates?

A B

LET’S GIVE IT A GO!

The Answer is A

A B

LET’S GIVE IT A GO!

A B

LET’S GIVE IT A GO!Which of these has less sodium?

A B

LET’S GIVE IT A GO!The answer is B

Nutrition Claims

• Nutrition claims appear frequently on food labels. Some common ones you may have seen include “low fat”, “reduced salt” or “good source of calcium”.

Nutrition Claims

• Manufacturers should not make specific claims such as ‘low in fat’, ‘high in fibre’, ‘reduced sugar’ unless they meet these criteria.

• While nutrition claims are useful guides, you should still check the nutrition information panel. Even if a food is ‘low in fat’, it could still be very high in salt.

Health Claims

• Health claims are statements that link eating a specific food with reducing the risk of an illness or disease, e.g. ‘eating low-fat yoghurt reduces your risk of osteoporosis’.

• It is illegal to use health claims in Australia.

• The only exception to this is foods with added folate. Manufacturers are allowed to state that eating folate just before conception and during pregnancy helps to reduce the risk of spina bifida in babies

Testing Your Knowledge:1. Click on the revision link below to test your

knowledge; 2. Revision 3. Once completed the questions to the best of

your ability, save the file as your First initial and Surname e.g. Y.Cochrane and email it to misscochrane@hotmail.com for marking.

4. Once you have completed these activities click on the link below, where you can start designing your own label.

HOW DID YOU GO?

If you have any questions, comments or queries about this presentation,

just let Miss know so she can answer any questions/resolve any

issues.Thankyou

References; • http://www.nutritionaustralia.org/ • http://www.diabetesaustralia.com.au/ • http://www.nestle.com.au/Default.htm

•http://www.foodstandards.gov.au/foodstandards/