09 Food Labelling, Comp Tables, Dietary Assessment

Question 1

What exceptions are there for foods not to have to carry nutrition labels?
But what info MUST these labels contain?

Answer 1

Plain coffe, tea, spices.
Produce of small businesses.
Food prepared and sold in the same establishment.
Restaurant menus (unless making claims like low fat etc)
MUST contain potentially allergic ingredients.

Question 2

How must food ingredient labels list order of ingredients?

When do GMO products do not have to be identified?

Answer 2

Descending by order of weight - highest first.

GMO does not have to be identified if entered into ingredients unintentionally or is less than 0.9%.

Question 3

What two ways can nutrients be listed?

Answer 3

By grams or by % of recommended intake.

Question 4

What are RI’s and GDA’s and which replaced which?

Answer 4

Reference Intake and Guideline Daily amounts. RI’s superseded GDA’s.

Question 5

What are EU RI’s for cals, proteins, carbs, fats and salt, and what is the UK traffic light labelling system?

Answer 5

Average adult:
2000cals
50g Protein
260g Carbs (90g sugars)
70g Fats (20g stats)
Salt 6g

Red, amber, green for high, med, low content of certain nutrients.

Question 6

Name 4 allergy food items that must be highlighted on food labels.

Answer 6

Celery
Gluten and related cereals
Fish, crustaceans and molluscs
Eggs
Lupin
Milk
Mustard
Nuts, peanuts, sesame seeds
Soybeans
Sulphites

Question 7

What’s the difference between ‘use-by’ and ‘best before’ dates?

Answer 7

Use by is more for food safety and best before is more about food quality. Eggs must be eaten BEFORE best before date.

Question 8

Name some rules that must be adhered to for organic farming.

Answer 8

Strict limits on chemicals, synthetic pesticides and fertilisers.
Prohibit GMO’s
Wide crop rotation
Make use of renewable resources like manure/fertiliser
Raising livestock in free-range, open air systems and feeding them organic feed

Question 9

What are 6 main groups of food additives?

Answer 9

Antioxidents
Colours
Flavour enhancers
Sweetners
Emulsifiers and stabilisers
Preservatives

Question 10

What is an ‘E’ number?

Answer 10

An additive that has been approved as safe for use within the European Union.

Question 11

What is the difference between natural, nature identical and artificial in additives.

Answer 11

Natural: Extracted from foodstuffs - found naturally in foods.
Nature identical: Man made copies of natural substances.
Artificial: Man-made, synthetic and not found in nature

Question 12

What are emulsifiers and stabilisers?

Answer 12

Emulsifiers help bind water and oils together that don’t usually mix.
Stabilisers help prevent them from separating again.

Question 13

What are some variables of nutrients in foods that cannot be covered by composition labels?

Answer 13

Brand or cultivars
Season
Climate
Soil type
Fertiliser treatment
When harvested
Preparation methods
Bioavailability of the food in the human body esp personal states of people either lacking or being replete as this also affects how much of each nutrient is metabolised.

Question 14

What is the glycemic response and what is the Glycemic Index (GI)?

Answer 14

Response - how quickly glucose is absorbed after a person eats, how high the blood glucose rises and how quickly it returns to normal.
Index - A method of classifying foods according to their effect on blood sugar/glycemic response.

Question 15

How was the GI set and what are considered high, med, low GI scores?

Answer 15

Set at the glucose response to 50g pure glucose (100). Foods are then given a number under this in comparison to the response.
High - 70+
Med - 56-69
Low - 0-55

Question 16

What is glycemic load (GL) and what is considered high, med, low scores in GL?

Answer 16

GL is based on GI but takes into consideration the portion sizes too.
GL = GI/100 x P (portion of carbs in food) x weight
High = 20+
Med = 11-19
Low = 0-10

Question 17

What are some factors that effect GI of foods (6)?

Answer 17

Cooking - longer cooking raises GI as break down starches for easier digestion.
Processing - Grinding, milling, fibre removal, cooking all raises GI.
Type of starch and type or sugar - different sugars have different GI values.
Contains fibre - slow digestion, lower GI.
Fat content - can slow digestion lowering GI.
Acidity content - slows stomach emptying, lower GI.

Question 18

What health problems are high GI/GL foods associated with and what diseases result?

Answer 18

Insulin resistance.
Low HDL cholesterol.
High triglycerides.
Inflammation.

Diabetes.
Heart Disease.
Obesity.

Question 19

What are some GI diet shortcomings?

Answer 19

The number of variables affecting GI like, fats, fibre, how much of the food is consumed, what foods are eaten with it, time of day etc.
Some highlights nutritious foods are also labelled high GI, so conversely not recommended.