Lesson video

Hello.

Thanks for choosing this lesson.

My name's Mr. Ballam, and this lesson's all around food labels for health.

Let's get started, shall we? So, what are we going to learn today? Well, by going through this lesson, you'll be able to analyse food labels to make healthier choices.

That's really important.

But before we get started, I've got three keywords I want to go through with you today, which are in the lesson.

The first one is "food label." And this conveys information about our food on its packaging.

The second one is "nutrition information." And it's information about the nutritional content of a food.

For example, amount of energy, fat, or salt it provides.

And lastly, "traffic light." And in this context, this is a color-coded nutrition label that shows the amount of energy and nutrients shown, either as low, medium, or high.

We're going to look at this in more detail in the lesson.

So let's get started with the first part of the lesson all around food label information.

Now, pre-packaged food have food labels.

And food labels provide information which help people to know about when to eat the food, for example, so like the date mark, or how to store the food, so, storage instructions, about the ingredients used its ingredients list, or the nutrients it provide, for example, the nutritional information.

Now, by law, food labels must show its name, the list of ingredients, including any allergens, its weight or volume, the date mark, the storage and preparation instructions, the contact details of the maker, the country of origin, so where it's been packed or processed, for example, and its nutrition information too.

And this information can help us make more informed choices.

Now, all ingredients used in a food product must be listed on a food label.

You can see an example here on the screen.

And the ingredients are listed in descending order, so that means the greatest amount used first to the least.

And you can also use a food label to check which ingredients you like or dislike, just like Alex.

So let's have a quick check, shall we? So, which ingredient is used in the smallest amount in this food label here for chicken balti? Yes, that's right.

It's B, isn't it? Cardamon.

Do you remember? It's the biggest or the greatest ingredient first to the least.

So the least amount used in this one is the last ingredient, which is cardamon.

Great work.

Well done.

You've been listening.

Now, some people have a bad reaction to foods, and this is known as a food allergy.

And by law, any food allergens must be highlighted in the ingredients list.

And allergens might be highlighted in bold, in italics, or perhaps underlined too.

So here's an example of an ingredient list here.

Now, what allergens are being highlighted here? Hmm.

What do you think? I wonder what Izzy thinks.

Or if you look at the label, you can see that the word "wheat flour" is in bold, isn't it? The word "milk" is in bold.

And the word "celery." So these must be three allergens that are in this food product here.

So these are allergens highlighted on the food label in bold.

So let's have a quick check that you understand this, shall we? So, which allergens are being highlighted for this cottage pie in this ingredient list? Well, great.

Well done.

Yes, milk, 'cause that's one of the words that's been highlighted.

In fact, it's been highlighted twice, hasn't it? Is there anything else? Yes, well done.

Wheat.

The wheat flour.

That's also being highlighted.

So in this product there are two allergens that have been highlighted in bold.

Brilliant work.

Well done.

We also mentioned date marks.

And these show when a food should be eaten by.

And there are two types.

The first one is "used by" and the second one is "best before." Let's have a look at these in a bit more detail, shall we? So let's start with "used by," shall we? And the "used by" date mark is used on food such as cheese, meat, and ready-made pizzas.

And "used by" date marks are about food safety, and it usually shows the day and the month.

So, for example, it could be "used by the 8th of February," and after this date the food should not be eaten.

So, if I have something at home in the fridge, and let's say it's the 12th of February, and I look at the date mark and it says the 8th, I shouldn't eat it, it's out of date.

And some date marks are changing.

So, for example, on milk now it might display a "used by" or a "best before" date mark, so it's always best to have a quick look at the milk and sniff it to check that it's okay first.

The "best before" date mark.

So this is a date mark that's used on foods such as canned beans, for example, dried fruit, breakfast cereals, or frozen peas.

And the "best before" date mark is all about food quality, and it usually shows the month and the year.

So, example, February 2025.

And after this date, the food will probably still be safe to eat, but it may not look or taste its best.

So let's have a quick check, shall we? So, which food label here is showing the "best before" date mark? A, B, C.

Yes, well done.

It's A.

That one is showing the "best before" date mark.

You can tell, can't you? 'Cause it's saying July 2025.

Brilliant.

Well done.

Now, food labels also show us how best to store the food to keep it safe to eat.

So, for example, it might be in a cool, dry place, like a cupboard.

It might be refrigerated or in the fridge.

Or perhaps frozen, in the freezer.

You can see a couple of examples here on the screen.

And sometimes instructions are given on how to prepare and cook the food too.

So let's have another quick check, shall we? So, true or false this time.

Food labels always show how to prepare and cook the food.

Well, that's false, isn't it? And why is that? Well, sometimes instructions are given on how to prepare and cook the food, but only when necessary.

Brilliant.

Well done.

And food labels can also show us where it originated, where it came from.

You can see some examples on the screen here.

So the butternut squash, it says it's from Spain, for example.

The garlic is from China.

And if you look really carefully at the can of tuna, it's from Ecuador in South America.

And this information is really helpful because you might want to know which country or region the food came from.

So, where did these peppers originate? Look at the food packaging.

Yes, well done.

C, from Spain.

Great work.

Well done.

Now, lots of foods we buy or grow do not have any food labels at all, and they're sold loose.

Hmm.

Can you answer Lucas's question here? Name three foods that we buy that do not have food labels.

Hmm.

I wonder what they could be.

What do you think? Well, let's have a look at some examples together, shall we? Now, those foods could include loose foods, like I could put mushrooms or different vegetables in a bag, so I'm only buying what I need.

Or perhaps different types of bread from a bakery.

Or perhaps I'm a fishmonger or a fish counter in a supermarket and I'm buying different types of fish.

So these are just three examples, but I'm sure there's lots of others that you've come up with where we buy foods that don't have food labels.

And food labels also show nutrition information.

There's some examples here on the screen.

And this is information about the energy and nutrients provided by the food.

And this type of information can help us make healthier choices, so, for example, choosing a lower fat option.

And just like Aisha's saying here, we're going to look at nutrition information labels in more detail in the next part of the lesson.

So I've got a task for you here.

And what I want you to do is describe how each part of a food label is useful.

So I want you to talk about the ingredient list, the date mark, the place of origin, the nutrition information, and the storage instructions.

I'm sure you'll do really well 'cause you've been listening really, really well today and getting involved too.

So, good luck to you.

Remember to pause the video and we'll come back very soon to see how you've got on.

Okay.

So, how did you get on? Let's have a look together, shall we? Well, the first one was the ingredient list.

And the ingredient list shows what has been used to make the food.

The ingredients used in the biggest amounts are first.

It also shows any allergies.

How about the next one, the date mark? What did you put? Well, it could have been something like, the date mark shows when food should be eaten by so it's safe to eat.

And there are two types, "used by" and "best before." And the third one, or the place of origin, shows where the food is from.

'Cause you might want to know where a food is from particular region or place.

How about the fourth one, nutrition information? Well, this shows the energy and nutrients in the food.

And it can help us make healthier choices.

And the last one, that's why it was the storage instructions.

And this shows where we can safely store food, for example, in the cupboard, the fridge, or the freezer.

Brilliant work.

Well done.

Okay, so now let's move on to the next part of the lesson, which is all around nutrition labels.

Now, as we've already discussed, nutrition labels can help us make healthier choices.

For example, we can choose foods that are low in energy or calories, are low in fat, salt, and sugars, or are high in fibre, for example.

So let's have a quick check, shall we? So, nutrition information labels can help us make healthier choices.

True or false? Yes, that's true, isn't it? And why is that? Well, they can help us make healthier choices.

'Cause if we can pick things, for example, that are in lower in energy or calories or perhaps lower in fat, salt, or sugars or perhaps high in fibre too.

Brilliant work.

Well done.

Now, there are two types of nutrition information labels that are used.

The first one is front of pack and the second one is back of pack.

And these can help us eat more healthily.

So let's have a look at each of these in turn, shall we? So, the "front of pack" nutrition information labels are also known as traffic lights.

And they use colours, green to show low, amber to show medium, and red to show high.

There's a couple of examples on the screen here, and these are designed to be used "at a glance" when choosing between similar foods.

So, when choosing, we need to go for plenty of greens and ambers and much fewer reds.

So, true of false? Traffic lights can be used to compare different types of foods for the healthiest option.

False, isn't it? And why is that? Well, traffic lights are designed to help people compare similar foods for the healthiest option, so they're comparing foods "like for like." Well done.

So, traffic light labels can help us make healthier choices quickly.

So, for example, here's one lasagna and here's a second lasagna.

And we can use these labels here to make healthier choices between similar foods.

So, if you look at these labels, which one is healthier do you think? Yes.

It's lasagna 2, isn't it? Because there's more greens and there's an amber too, so there's less reds.

Brilliant.

Well done.

So, which lasagna here is the healthiest choice? A, B, or C? Yes, well done.

It's B isn't it? And why is that? Well, if you look at the food label, it's got the most greens, hasn't it? It's also got an amber and it's only got one red too.

So, at quick glance, that's the healthiest option.

Brilliant.

Well done.

You're doing so well today.

So we've looked at the front of pack.

Now we're going to look at the "back of pack" nutrition information.

And this shows us more detailed information about the energy and nutrients provided.

And a greater range of nutrients are displayed, for example, carbohydrate, fibre, as well as protein too.

And we can also read this label to select foods that have less salt or perhaps more fibre.

And the back of pack label shows the information per 100 grammes but also per portion.

So, here's a pizza.

It's 400 grammes in total.

And here's the information.

So it shows it per 100 grammes and also per portion.

So, although the pizza, the whole pizza, weighs 400 grammes, half of it is the portion, so therefore, per portion it's showing it 200 grammes.

So, with this information, we can easily see how much one portion provides.

So let's have another quick check, shall we? So, how much fibre is being provided by a portion of these burritos? A, B, C, or D? Look closely at the numbers.

Yes, well done.

It's C, isn't it? 6.

1 grammes.

So, if you look carefully under the column, at the top of it, it says per portion.

And then you go down to the fibre, it says 6.

1 per portion.

Brilliant.

Well done.

So, I've got a task for you here and I want you to explain to Alex and Aisha how nutrition information labels can help them make healthier choices.

So Alex is asking, "How can I use 'front of pack' labels to pick a healthier sandwich?" Hmm.

What would you say to Alex? And Aisha, "How can I use 'back of pack' labels to pick a higher fibre breakfast cereal?" Well, I'm sure you'll do really well.

I want you now to have a go, pause the video, and we'll come back very soon to see how you've got on.

Okay.

How did you get on? I bet you did really well, didn't you? So let's have an example together, shall we? So, Alex asks, "How can I use the 'front of pack' labels to pick a healthier sandwich?" Well, firstly, we can use the traffic lights on the front of the pack.

And for similar sandwiches we can pick the one with the most "greens" and "ambers." So, for example, we might be looking at a cheese and onion sandwich and we'll pick the one with the most greens and ambers.

And lastly, we're going to go for the greens on the fats and the salt too.

How about Aisha's question, "How can I use the 'back of pack' label to pick a higher fibre breakfast cereal?" Well, first of all, look at the back of pack nutrition information and the different breakfast cereals that you are going to compare.

And look at the amounts of fibre per portion and select the one that is highest.

But watch out, 'cause we need to make sure that the portion sizes are of a similar size, just so we're comparing "like to like." Great work.

Well done.

You've done so well today.

Well, that's the end of the lesson and I really hope you've enjoyed learning more about food labels for health.

Let's have a quick summary of what we've learned today, shall we? Well, first of all, we've learned that pre-packaged foods have food labels.

And all the ingredients used should be listed on a food label.

And common allergens should also be highlighted clearly in the ingredients list.

And nutrition labels can help us make healthier choices.

And these are on the front of pack as well as the back of pack too.

And lastly, we've learned that front of pack nutrition labels are shown as traffic lights.

And when we're choosing foods using the traffic lights, we should go for plenty of greens and ambers and fewer reds.

Well, I really hope you've enjoyed today's lesson and hope you can use this information to pick healthier foods in the future using the food labels too.

And hope you come back very soon for another cooking and nutrition lesson with me.

Thanks a lot.

Bye.