Date: May 1994

Grade Level(s): 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12

Subject(s):

• Health/Consumer Health

Overview:

Most of the food that people in the U.S. eat today is obtained from the local grocery store in attractive convenient packaging. The attractive packaging can often mislead or confuse the consumer as to the true nutritive value of the contents found within.

Purpose:

Students need to be aware of the nutritional value of the food products they consume to enable them to make healthy and intelligent dietary choices for the rest of their lives.

Objectives: Students should:

1. be aware of all the nutritional information found on food labels
2. be familiar with the basic dietary needs of the human body
3. understand that food companies want their product to sell, and package and label their product to attract the consumer
4. know where and how to write a letter to a food company found on the label.

Materials: food labels brought in by students

Activities and Procedures: Each student should have several food labels:

1. Read thoroughly all information given on packaging; write down complete ingredients (these are sometimes surprising) and grams of protein, carbohydrates and fat per serving
2. Use current health references (text, brochures, charts) to go over the six basic dietary requirements for maintaining a healthy body (carbohydrates, protein, fat, vitamins, minerals, water) and look for these on label 
3. Make a classroom list of packaging and labeling techniques meant to attract the consumer; classify these appeals into categories such as good taste, low cost, convenience, health, etc; under the health category determine which health factor is being considered (low in calories, no cholesterol, fiber, no additives)
4. Write a business letter to a food company found on label requesting more nutrition information.

Tying It All Together: Analyzing food labels is a good way to teach nutrition using a readily available resource for all students. Spin-offs of this activity can easily be integrated into math (measurement, price comparison) and social studies (government regulatory agencies such as the FDA and USDA; geographical mapping of location of major food companies) and creative and language arts (packaging design, advertisements and commercials, letters of inquiry, directions for food preparation).