Reading Food Labels Aim: How can we understand and use food labels to make better food choices?

Do Now List everything that influences your decision when choosing a meal, a snack, or something to eat. Write a sentence to describe each influence.

Labels? How many of you have noticed the food labels or Nutrition Facts on the foods you or your family buys? Do any of you ever read and use the information you find on a food label to make food choices? What information do you look at first?

Food Labels Food labels provide info about the food or beverage contained in a package, can, bottle, or other container. Learning how to read and interpret these Nutrition Facts can help you make healthier food and drink choices. Why do you think food labels are required on most foods?

Benefits Food labels can help us: Choose foods low in fat, added sugar, & salt. Compare nutrient content of different foods. Identify recommended serving sizes. Identify calories per serving.

How do we read a label? What’s the serving size of this food? How many servings are in this container? How many calories are there per serving? How many of the calories in each serving are from fat, carbohydrates, and protein? How many grams of fat, carbs, and protein per serving? What micronutrients does this provide?

Hot Pocket Broc/Ched/Chkn 1. List the serving size 2. List the amount of calories per serving. 3. How much total fat is there? 4. How many grams of carbs and protein does this provide? 5. Any micronutrients? 6. How much sodium is in this? 6. Would you choose this food item? Why or why not? 7. (Optional) What food might this be? Hot Pocket Broc/Ched/Chkn

Activity #1 There are several food labels going around. Find 5 food labels, write down which item letter it is, and record the following: 1. Calories per serving 2. Serving per container 3. Amounts of fat, carbohydrates, and protein. 4. Micronutrients it may contain. 5. Sodium and cholesterol count.

What else is on the label? In addition to the Nutrition Facts, all of a food’s ingredients are required to be listed on a food package. Sometimes the list is printed with the Nutrition Facts, and sometimes it’s found somewhere else on the package. Ingredients are listed in order from most to least amount in the food product. EXAMPLE: If the first ingredient listed is whole wheat, you know that this food is high in complex carbs. If the first ingredient is sugar, the food is probably not a healthy choice. Ingredients lists can also help people with food allergies check for ingredients that they may be allergic to.

Ingredients Ingredients: Water, Unbleached Enriched Flour (Wheat Flour [Niacin, Reduced Iron, Thiamine Mononitrate, Riboflavin, Folic Acid]), Unbleached Enriched Flour (Wheat Flour, Malted Barley Flour, Niacin, Iron, Thiamine Mononitrate, Riboflavin, Folic Acid), Cooked White Meat Chicken Ground And Formed (Chicken Breast Meat, Water, Modified Food Starch, Encapsulated Salt, Sodium Phosphate, Salt), Broccoli, Cheddar Cheese (Pasteurized Milk, Cheese Cultures, Salt, Enzymes, Annatto [Color]), Imitation Cheddar Cheese (Water, Modified Food Starch, Casein, Soybean Oil, Whey, Contains 2% Or Less of Salt, Sodium Aluminum Phosphate, Sodium Phosphate, Lactic Acid, Sodium Citrate, Natural Flavor, Sorbic Acid [Preservative], Artificial Color), Margarine (Partially Hydrogenated Soybean Oil, Palm Oil, Water, Partially Hydrogenated Cottonseed Oil, Sugar, Mono- And Diglycerides, Artificial Flavor, Soybean Lecithin, Potassium Sorbate And Citric Acid [Preservatives], Colored With Annatto And Turmeric, Vitamin A Palmitate), Palm Oil (With Soy Lecithin, Artificial Flavor, Beta-Carotene [Color], Citric Acid [Preservative]), Roasted Onions, Less Than 2% of Seasoning (Whey, Cheddar Cheese [Milk, Cheese Culture, Salt, Enzymes], Buttermilk, Enzyme Modified Cheddar Cheese [Milk, Sodium Citrate, Cheese Cultures, Salt, Enzymes, Potassium Sorbate], Salt, Reduced Lactose Whey, Coconut Oil, Corn Maltodextrin, Disodium Phosphate, Blue Cheese [Milk, Cheese Culture, Salt, Enzymes], Citric Acid, Lactic Acid, Extractives of Annatto And Turmeric), Whey, Partially Hydrogenated Palm Kernel Oil (With Soy Lecithin), Modified Food Starch, Partially Hydrogenated Soybean Oil, Yeast, Seasoning (Whey, Partially Hydrogenated Soybean Oil, Maltodextrin, Cheddar/Blue Cheese [Pasteurized Milk, Cheese Cultures, Salt, Enzymes], Salt, Nonfat Milk, Sodium Caseinate, Sodium Citrate, Natural Flavors, Citric Acid, Extractives of Annatto, Paprika And Turmeric [Color]), Dough Conditioner (Calcium Sulfate, Salt, L-Cysteine Hydrochloride, Garlic Powder, Tricalcium Phosphate, Enzymes), Chicken Fat (Cooked Chicken Fat, Natural Flavoring), Salt, Chicken Flavor (Canola Oil, Soybean Oil, Chicken Fat, Flavor), Sodium Stearoyl Lactylate, Sugar, Soy Flour, Egg Whites, Soybean Oil. **Contains Milk, Egg, Wheat, Soy

What might this be? Ingredients: White Boneless Chicken, Water, Food Starch-Modified, Salt, Seasoning (Autolyzed Yeast Extract, Salt, Wheat Starch, Natural Flavoring [Botanical Source], Safflower Oil, Dextrose, Citric Acid), Sodium Phosphates, Natural Flavor (Botanical Source). Battered and Breaded with: Water, Enriched Flour (Bleached Wheat Flour, Niacin, Reduced Iron, Thiamin Mononitrate, Riboflavin, Folic Acid), Yellow Corn Flour, Bleached Wheat Flour, Food Starch-Modified, Salt, Leavening (Baking Soda, Sodium Acid Pyrophosphate, Sodium Aluminum Phosphate, Monocalcium Phosphate, Calcium Lactate), Spices, Wheat Starch, Dextrose, Corn Starch. CONTAINS: WHEAT. Prepared in Vegetable Oil (Canola Oil, Corn Oil, Soybean Oil, Hydrogenated Soybean Oil with TBHQ and Citric Acid added to preserve freshness). Dimethylpolysiloxane added as an antifoaming agent.

Does it have them? Do any of the food labels you brought from home have a list of ingredients on them?

Activity #2 Looking at different labels, write what 3 labels you chose, and record the following for each label: 1. First 5 ingredients. 2. Are they natural ingredients? How can you tell? 3. List 5 ingredients that you do not know about.

Summary Today we looked over many nutrition labels, and learned how to read them. Knowing how to read and understand nutrition labels may help us make better food choices, portion sizes, and live longer. It also allows us to see and understand just exactly what we are putting into our bodies.

Homework Using the WHICH FOODS WOULD YOU CHOOSE: 1) pick either A or B side, and 2) fill out the FOOD LABEL ANALYSIS worksheet.