Research Task
Nutrition label is the information located usually on the back of a consumable item that informs you of what you’re eating. This enables you to choose which product is better for you, the nutrition information panel (NIP) helps you to compare the key nutrients and serving sizes whereas some food labels also have information with the percentage of daily intake which are said to promote nutrition or health claims also.
The picture on the right is a NIP, which is an example of the ingredients that must be included in a nutritional information panel. The panels are used to come the key nutrients e.g. salt (sodium), sugar, carbohydrate and fat, of the product you buy to ensure you buy the best balance for your dietary needs.
In Australia the Food Standards Code states that all food labels must identify the following information:
Name and/or description of the food
Identification of the ‘lot’ number (food recall information)
Name and Australian street address of the supplier of food (food recall information)
List of ingredients
Date mark
Nutrition information panel (NIP)
Country of origin of the food
Warning and advisory statements
Food nutritional labels have been around for a long time, almost every packaged consumable product has on. To the blind eye, they’re all the same. Although, by paying attention to the information on the labels of products the consumer will be able to make sure their families eat the correct amounts of nutrients. They can also avoid overeating, to avoid unhealthy foods and keep known allergens away from themselves and their families. However, this is not the same for everyone because some nutritional labels are misleading.
Consumers think that the serving sizes listed on food packaging may be giving people the wrong impression about how much they should be eating. This is because the words “low fat” on a product does not necessarily mean that there is a low quantity of a healthy fat; there may be a lower fat content but the fat might be trans-fatty acids. Another reason for this is that in an ABC article they had an experiment to see whether people
