Developing Healthy Choices Lesson 5 Reading Food Labels Traffic light system on food labels Suitable for Curriculum for Excellence Benchmark for Food an Health, Developing Healthy Choices Scottish System of Education

1. Reading Food Labels

2. Be able to identify
and interpret
information on food
labels.
Be able to use food
and drink labels to
make healthier
choices.
Be able to interpret
food labels to
identify those that
are high or low in fat
salt and sugar
To show progress today I should …

3. Food packaging
Why do most foods and drinks come in a package?
Packaging:
• protects food or drink from damage or spilling;
• keeps it safe from bacteria, pollution or vermin;
• gives us information about the food or drink.
What food or drink have you had recently
that came in packaging?
What can you see on this food package?

4. Labels
What information would you expect to see on a food or drink label?
The information about food is shown on its label.

5. Labels
Most labels would show:
• name;
• weight/volume;
• date mark (‘use by’ or ‘best before’);
• ingredients;
• country of origin;
• storage instructions;
• allergens.
What information would you expect to see on a food or drink label?
The information about food is shown on its label.
Can you see these on this label?

6. Labels
Most labels would show:
• name;
• weight/volume;
• date mark (‘use by’ or ‘best before’);
• ingredients;
• country of origin;
• storage instructions;
• allergens.
What information would you expect to see on a food or drink label?
The information about food is shown on its label.
Can you see these on this label?
If you have any food packaging nearby, take a look.
Can you see any of this information on the labels?

7. Labels and healthier choices
They tell us what is in the food or drink so
we can choose.
How can labels help us make
healthier choices?

8. Labels and healthier choices
They tell us what is in the food or drink so
we can choose.
How can labels help us make
healthier choices?
Generally we need to eat less…
• fat
• sugars
• salt
We can use food labels to check how much
of these are in our food and drinks.

9. Labels and healthier choices
How much fat, sugars and salt are in
this food?

10. Labels and healthier choices
Why are there two amounts for each?
One amount is for 100g of the food and
the other is for a portion.
Have a look at a food package.
How much salt does it have per 100g
and per portion?
How much fat, sugars and salt are in
this food?

11. Information per 100g and per portion
Labels give us the information per 100g so
we can compare different foods.

12. Information per 100g and per portion
Labels give us the information per 100g so
we can compare different foods.
The labels often give us the information for
the size of a portion too, because that is
the amount we are more likely to eat.

13. Information per 100g and per portion of spread
What do you notice about the amount
of fat in 100g compared with a portion
of spread?

14. Information per 100g and per portion
What do you notice about the amount
of fat in 100g compared with a portion
of spread?
The 100g amount is there to help us
compare it to other foods but we
wouldn't eat 100g of spread.
The portion helps us see how much
fat would be in an amount we would
be more likely to eat.
If you have a food or drink package nearby, take a look!
How much fat does it have per 100g and per portion?

15. Choosing healthier options
Labels show us the information per 100g so we can compare different foods.
It is healthier to choose foods that are low in fat, sugars and salt.
How do we know if foods are low or high in fat, sugars and salt?
Per 100g of food
High Low
Fat More than 17.5g 3g or less
Sugars More than 22.5g 5g or less
Salt More than 1.5g 0.3g or less
This table shows us whether a food is high or low in fat, sugars and salt per 100g.

16. Reading labels Look at these labels to see if the foods are high or low in salt.
Per 100g of food or drink
High Low
Salt More than 1.5g 0.3g or less
This food is high in salt.
It contains 3.9g per 100g of food.
This food is low in salt.
It contains 0.01g per 100g of food.

17. Making choices
It is important to look at our food labels so we can make choices about what we eat.
What do you notice about the
fat in these two types
of cheddar cheese?
Cheddar cheese
Reduced fat
cheddar cheese
Per 100g of food
High Low
Fat More than 17.5g 3g or less

18. Making choices
It is important to look at our food labels so we can make choices about what we eat.
What do you notice about the
fat in these two types
of cheddar cheese?
Cheddar cheese Reduced fat cheddar cheese
Per 100g of food
High Low
Fat More than 17.5g 3g or less

19. Reading labels Look at this label. Is this food high or low in sugars?
Per 100g of food or drink
High Low
Sugars More than 22.5g 5g or less

20. Reading labels Look at this label. Is this food high or low in sugars?
The sugars information is under
Carbohydrates where it says
‘of which sugars’ .
Per 100g of food or drink
High Low
Sugars More than 22.5g 5g or less
This food is low in sugars.
It contains 2.5g of sugars per 100g of food.

21. Making choices
What do you notice about
the sugar in these two
types of muesli?
It is important to look at our food labels so we can make choices about what we eat
and drink.
Muesli Reduced sugar muesli
Per 100g of food or drink
High Low
Sugars More than 22.5g 5g or less

22. Making choices
What do you notice about
the sugar in these two
types of muesli?
They are neither
High or Low
They are in the
amber section
It is important to look at our food labels so we can make choices about what we eat
and drink.
Muesli Reduced sugar muesli
Per 100g of food or drink
High Low
Sugars More than 22.5g 5g or less

23. Making choices
What do you notice
about the salt
in these two types
of baked beans?
It is important to look at our food labels so we can make
choices about what we eat and drink.
Baked beans Reduced salt baked
beans
Per 100g of food or drink
High Low
Salt More than 1.5g 0.3g or less

24. Making choices
What do you notice
about the salt
in these two types
of baked beans?
It is important to look at our food labels so we can make
choices about what we eat and drink.
Baked beans Reduced salt baked
beans
Per 100g of food or drink
High Low
Salt More than 1.5g 0.3g or less

25. Credits
• Images used under license from Shutterstock.com:- brain cartoon, Tropicana
Orange Juice Carton
• Images used with permission C-J McErlean (food label pictures)
• Waitrose food label pictures
• Heinz baked beans food label