Chapter 5: Section 5

 Health Terms  Food additives – substances added to food intentionally to produce a desired effect.  Enriched food – a food in which nutrients that were lost in the processing have been added back.  Fortification – the addition of nutrients that are not naturally present.  Unit Pricing – a strategy for recognizing the relative cost of a product based on the cost of a standard unit, such as an ounce or gram.  Health Concepts  The Nutrition Facts Panel found on almost all packaged food products can help you judge whether a prepared or packaged food product meets your nutritional needs.  Part of health literacy is learning to understand and judge claims made on food packages.  Knowing what you are buying is as important as knowing what you are eating.

 Nutrition Facts panel  Serving size  Servings per container  Calories per serving and calories per serving from fat  Grams of total fat, saturated fat, total carbohydrate, fiber, sugars, protein, and milligrams of cholesterol and sodium per serving  Percentage of the Daily Value (DV) the product supplies of the above nutrients, plus some important minerals and vitamins in one serving

 Don’t ignore the serving size.  Don’t just look at carbs, look at what types of carbs (limit sugars).  Don’t just look at fat, look at what types of fat (limit saturated).

 Food served in restaurants  Plain coffee and tea  Some spices and other foods that contain no nutrients  Fresh meat, poultry, and fish  Fresh fruits and vegetables

 Almost all food labels have an ingredients list.  These labels list ingredients by weight in descending order.

 Substances added to food intentionally to produce a desired effect.  Used to:  Add nutrients  Lengthen storage life  Give flavor or color  Maintain texture  Control food’s acidity  Help age foods, such as cheese  Enriched vs Fortified  Enriched means they are putting nutrients which have been lost back in while fortification means they are addition nutrients that are not naturally present.

 Fructose (natural fruit sugar) is used as a sugar substitute in many foods.  Sweeter than table sugar, so less is needed, supplying fewer calories.  Non-caloric sweeteners, are commonly added to diet sodas and desserts and is considered safe when used in moderation.

 Healthy: the food is low in fat and saturated fat and contains limited amounts of cholesterol and sodium.  Light: The calories have been reduced by at least a third, or the fat or sodium by at least ½.  Light: the calories have been reduced by at least a 1/3, or the fat or sodium by at least a ½.  Less: the food contains 25% less of a nutrient or of calories than a comparable food.  -free: product contains no amount, or only a slight amount, of fat, cholesterol, sodium, sugars, or calories.  Fresh: food is raw, unprocessed, contains no preservatives and has never been frozen or heated.  Natural: this term is reserved for meat and poultry only. It means the food is minimally processed with no artificial or synthetic ingredients.

 Expiration date: last date you should use the product.  Freshness date: last date a food is thought to be fresh.  Pack date: the date on which the product was packaged.  Sell date: also known as pull date, this term denotes the last the product – for example milk – should be sold. The product is still okay a few days beyond this date if stored properly.

 Stores have begun to include vital information to help shoppers.  Unit pricing is an example  Saves consumers $  Before buying however, what should you ask yourself?

1. What is the difference between enriched and fortified? 2. What are 4 reasons food additives are used in food? 3. What do open dating and unit pricing mean?