Food Labels

Obje

ctiv

es

Have students understand how food is

labeled

Why

do w

e h

ave

fo

od la

bels

?

• Food labeling is required for

most prepared foods• breads, • cereals, • canned and frozen foods,

• Snacks • Nutrition labeling for raw

produce (fruits and vegetables)

and fish is voluntary.• Restaurant foods claiming a

certain health status (low

calorie, etc) are required to

have nutritional information on

hand

Exe

mpti

ons

from

fo

od la

belin

g:

• food served for immediate

consumption,• hospital cafeterias and

airplanes, • mall cookie counters, sidewalk

vendors, and vending machines

• ready-to-eat food that is not

for immediate consumption

but is prepared primarily on

site-• bakery, deli, and candy stores

• food shipped in bulk, as long

as it is not for sale in that

form to consumers

Exe

mpti

ons

from

fo

od la

belin

g:

• medical foods, such as those

used to address the nutritional needs of patients

with certain diseases • plain coffee and tea, some

spices, and other foods that

contain no significant

amounts of any nutrients.

• Businesses with fewer than

100 full-time equivalent

employees may claim an

exemption for food products

that have U.S. sales of fewer

than 100,000 units annually

What is included

in a food Label?

• Under the label's "Nutrition Facts" panel, manufacturers

are required to provide

information on certain

nutrients. The mandatory (underlined) and

voluntary components

and the order in which

they must appear are:

• total calories • calories from fat • calories from saturated fat • total fat • saturated fat • polyunsaturated fat

• monounsaturated fat • cholesterol

• sodium • potassium • total carbohydrate • dietary fiber • soluble fiber • insoluble fiber • sugars

• sugar alcohol (Sugar

substitutes)• other carbohydrate (the

difference between total

carbohydrate and the sum of

dietary fiber, sugars, and

sugar alcohol if declared)

• protein • vitamin A • percent of vitamin A present

as beta-carotene • vitamin C • calcium • iron

• other essential vitamins and

minerals

Sum

mary

Questio

ns

• Why do you think that

Food labels are so strict

with their rules?

• What are some examples

of places in bowling green

that would not need any

nutrition facts

• What is sugar alcohol?