Use Nutrition Label to Choose Healthy Food (Abridged version)

1
Use Nutrition Label to Choose Healthy Food
(Abridged version)
2
Information on Food Labels
3
Nutrition Information on Food LabelsNutrition
Label
4
Food and Drugs (Composition and
Labelling)(Amendment Requirements for Nutrition
Labellingand Nutrition Claim) Regulation 2008
5
Making Use of Nutrition Label

• Consumers can
• Compare the nutritional content among different
  foods for a healthier choice, e.g. to choose food
  that is lower in fat, sodium (or salt) and
  sugars.
• Understand the nutritional content of food and
  estimate their contribution to the overall diet.
• To meet individuals dietary needs.

6
Three Simple Steps to Read Nutrition Label

• Step 1 
• Take note of the reference amount of food being
  used in the nutrition label
• Step 2 
• Read the energy and nutrient content together
  with the reference amount
• Step 3 
• Refer to the percentage Nutrient Reference Value
  (NRV), if available, to see if the food contains
  a lot or a little of energy or a nutrient in the
  food

7
Step 1 Take note of the reference amount of
food being used in the nutrition label

• Expressed as per 100 g (or per 100 mL) of food

8
Step 1 Take note of the reference amount of
food being used in the nutrition label

• Expressed as per serving (the serving size (in g
  or mL) and the no. of servings must be specified
  on the package)

9
Step 1 Take note of the reference amount of
food being used in the nutrition label

• Expressed as per package (if the package contains
  only a single serving )

10
Step 2AUse nutrition label to compare between
products

• Products with nutritional content expresssed in
  the SAME reference amount

If reference amount is the SAME, you CAN COMPARE
between the products DIRECTLY
11
Step 2AUse nutrition label to compare between
products

• Products with nutritional content expresssed in
  DIFFERENT reference amounts

If reference amounts are DIFFERENT, you CANNOT
COMPARE between the products DIRECTLY
12
Step 2Read the energy and nutrient content
together with the reference amount

• Products with nutritional content expresssed in
  DIFFERENT reference amounts

13
Step 2Read the energy and nutrient content
together with the reference amount

• The more you eat, the more you get
• If you eat 1 serving of biscuit
• Get 8 g of fat, 3.5 g of saturated fat
• If you eat 2 servings of biscuit
• Get 16 g of fat, 7 g of saturated fat

14
Step 3 Refer to the percentage Nutrient
Reference Value (NRV), if available, to see if
the food contains a lot or a little of energy or
a nutrient in the food

• Energy and nutrient content sometimes are
  expressed as a percentage which is usually on a
  scale from 0 to 100.

15
Nutrition Label and Healthy Eating
16
(No Transcript)
17
Principles of Healthy Eating

• Choose a variety of food and eat cereals as the
  largest portion of food in every meal.
• Eat a lot of vegetables and fruit.
• Reduce the consumption of foodstuffs with high
  salt, fat and sugar content as well as those
  which are preserved.
• A daily fluid intake of 6 to 8 glasses (including
  clear soup, fruit juice and tea).
• Take meals regularly and in adequate amounts.
• (Source of information Department of Health)

18
Nutrition Labelling is a Useful Tool for
Practising Healthy Eating

• Nutrition label and nutrition claim can help
  consumers choose healthier food in accordance
  with healthy eating principles and the Food
  Pyramid, e.g.
• Choose biscuits lower in fat and sodium (or salt)
• Choose dairy products lower in fat
• Choose beverages lower in sugars

19
Use Nutrition Labels to Choose 3 Low
Prepackaged Food
20
How to Choose 3 Low Prepackaged Food

• 3 Low--- Low fat, Low sodium (or Low salt),
• Low sugars
• Use nutrition claim as a quick screening tool
  and
• Take three simple steps to read nutrition label,
  and choose food lower in fat, sodium and sugars

21
How to Choose 3 Low Prepackaged Food
The words below are considered as synonyms for
nutrition claims, they may help you choose food
with low/free fat, sodium or sugars
Claim Meaning of Claim
Free No Zero Without Does not contain Insignificant amount of a particular nutrient found in the food
Very low Extremely low Super low This category of claim applies to sodium only, meaning a very small amount of sodium found in the food
Low Little Low source Few Contains a small amount of A small amount of nutrient found in the food
22
How to Choose 3 Low Prepackaged Food Example 1
23
How to Choose 3 Low Prepackaged Food Example 2
24
How to Choose 3 Low Prepackaged Food Example 3
25
END
26
Required Nutrients on Nutrition Labels

• 17 (energy plus seven nutrients specified for
  labelling) i.e. energy, protein, total fat,
  saturated fat, trans fat, carbohydrates, sugars
  and sodium.
• Nutrient(s) involved in nutrition claim(s) (when
  the nutrition claim is on any type of fat, the
  amount of cholesterol must be declared as well).
• For other nutrients, declaration is voluntary.

27
Control of Nutrition Claims

• Nutrition claim means any representation which
  states, suggests or implies that a food has
  particular nutritional properties.
• From 1 July 2010, all nutrition claims must meet
  certain specified conditions, e.g.
• Product with Low sodium claim should contain
  not more than 120 mg of sodium per 100 g/mL of
  food.
• Product with Low sugars claim should contain
  not more than 5 g of sugars per 100 g/mL of food.
• Nutrition claims on food labels and
  advertisements are all regulated.

28
Wordings on Food Packages may be Blacked out or
Covered

• Some nutrition claims may not meet certain
  specific criteria as required by the new
  Regulation in Hong Kong.
• Therefore, traders might black out or cover the
  relevant wordings on the food packages.

29
Wordings on Food Packages may be Blacked out or
Covered

• Food products with low sales volume could be
  exempted from nutrition labelling if they do not
  carry any nutrition claims.
• Therefore, some traders may black out or cover
  the wordings on these products packages in order
  to make their products exempted.