Education Phase 2 Food Packaging

Why do we need food packaging? To protect food – packaging contains the product (stops it from spilling). It also protects the product from damage. To keep food safe to eat – packaging protects the food from micro-organisms (e.g. bacteria), pollution or vermin. This means the food is kept safe to eat. To provide information – information on the packaging can help the customer. It shows when to eat food by, and how to store it safely.

Information The information is shown in the form of a label.

Labelling Most food labels show the following: name; weight/volume; ingredients; storage (if appropriate); the date when the food should be eaten; country of origin

Date marks Date marks show the date by when food should be eaten. There are two types: ‘Use by’ ‘Best before’

‘Use by’ ‘Use by’ dates can be found on milk, cheese, meat and ready made pizzas. It shows the day/month, e.g. 19 Feb. After this date, the food is not safe to eat.

‘Best before’ ‘Best before’ dates are used on foods such as canned beans, dried fruit, breakfast cereals and frozen peas. They show the month/year, e.g. Feb ’14. After this date, the food will probably be safe to eat, but may not look or taste as good.

Storage instructions Labels show where best to store the food to keep it safe to eat. For example: cool, dry place (cupboard); refrigerated (in the fridge); frozen (in the freezer).

Where should these foods be stored? FridgeFreezerCupboard