Lets solve the mystery

of food packaging

Lets solve the mystery

of food packaging

First, lets
investigate
the Australian Guide

to Healthy Eating

everyday and
sometimes foods

Your Mission
Learn how to read food
labels to help you make
healthier food choices.

Did you know?

There are around 40,000 products on the shelves of an
average Australian supermarket.
People are often confused about which products are a
healthier choice because they dont understand the
information on packaging.
The average time spent looking at nutrition labels is
25-100 milliseconds. Thats about the same time as
it takes to blink!

By understanding food labels

you will solve the mystery of
the product inside

SATURATED
FAT

SODIUM

FIBRE

SUGAR

FAT

ENERGY

PROTEIN

Learning how to read a

product label is the key to
comparing products

Unlock healthier
choices

Unlock allergy
awareness

Unlock moral
choices

Choose healthier
products which
are lower in
saturated fat, salt
or sugar.

Avoid a particular
ingredient or food
additive that may
cause allergy or
intolerance.

Choose foods for

personal or moral
reasons, e.g.
organic foods or
Halal foods.

So, lets put packaging under a

magnifying glass
Date Mark
Storage
Requirement
Nutrition
Labelling
Ingredients
List
Percentage
Labelling
Allergy
Statement

Name and
Description of Food

Food Additives
Contact
Information

%DI

Country of
Origin
Packaging Recycling
Symbol

Net
Weight

SUPER SLEUTH
CHALLENGE 1
Refer to the worksheet provided. Your
mission is to try to find all of the elements
shown on a food label. Tick them off as
you find them.
At the end of 5 minutes you will be asked to return to your
seated position on the floor

Super Sleuth Sam has five clues

to choosing healthier products
NUTRITIONAL INFORMATION
Servings per twin pack: 2
Serving Size 200g
Energy
Use the per 100g (or 100
mls for liquid) column
to compare the energy
in similar food
products.

Sodium
Is a component of salt.
It is found in many
foods including both
processed and fresh
food. Look for less than
400mg per 100g

Energy
Protein
Fat
Saturated Fat
Carbohydrate
Sugars
Sodium

Quantity
Per
Serving

Quantity
Per 100g

337kj
81Cal
8.8g
0.2g
0.2g
10.4g
9.6g
85mg

168kj
40Cal
4.4g
0.1g
0.1g
5.2g
4.8g
42mg

* RECOMMENDED DIETARY INTAKE

Carbohydrates
Includes both starches
and sugars in a food.
Sugars
Look for less than 10g
per 100g

Total fat
This food is
low fat

Saturated fat
Simple rule:
the lower
the better

Can you help Super Sleuth Sam

crack the code to understand
food nutrients?
Keeps you warm, protects your
organs and helps absorb and move
nutrients around your body.

SALT

FIBRE

SUGAR

FAT

Is important in maintaining water

balance and blood pressure in our
bodies as well as being essential for
muscle and nerve activity.
Is the part of plant food (fruit,
veggies, whole grains and nuts) that
our bodies do not absorb and keeps
our intestines healthy.
Occurs naturally in some foods, like
fruit and dairy products, and is often
added to foods. Essentially, it is a
carbohydrate, and is a source of Kj.

Super Sleuth Sam has five clues

to choosing healthier products
Nutrient*
Total Fat
Saturated Fat
Sugar
Sodium (Salt)
Fibre

Clues for choosing healthier products

Healthier choices are 5-10g fat/100g
Choose food with the lowest saturated fat
Look for less than 10g/100g
Choose products with the lowest amount of
sodium less than 400mg/100g
Choose products with 3g/100g or choose the one
with the highest amount

Remember, some of the healthiest foods may be unlabelled

(e.g. fresh fruit and vegetables, nuts, lentils, beans, fresh meat
and fish)

SUPER SLEUTH
CHALLENGE 2
Using the cereal or snack packaging and Super Sleuth
Sams Clues Card, your mission is to locate and record
information related to Salt, Sugar, Fat and Fibre.
Rate the levels of each as healthy or unhealthy
according to what you have learnt.
At the end of 10 minutes you will be asked to return to your
seated position on the floor

Lets interrogate some fruits and

see how they stack up

ORANGE
NUTRITIONAL INFORMATION

APPLE
NUTRITIONAL INFORMATION

BANANA
NUTRITIONAL INFORMATION

Servings per Pack: 1

Serving Size 160g

Servings per Pack: 1

Serving Size 112g

Servings per Pack: 1

Serving Size 102g

Quantity
Per
Serving

Quantity
Per 100g

Quantity
Per
Serving

Quantity
Per 100g

Energy

282kj

176kj

Protein

1.8g

Fat
Saturated Fat

Quantity
Per
Serving

Quantity
Per 100g

Energy

260kj

232kj

Energy

396kj

388kj

1.1g

Protein

0.3g

0.3g

Protein

1.7g

1.7g

0.2g

0.1g

Fat

0.1g

0.1g

Fat

0.1g

0.1g

0.0g

0.0g

Saturated Fat

0.0g

0.0g

Saturated Fat

0.0g

0.0g

Carbohydrate

13.0g

8.1g

Carbohydrate

13.7g

12.2g

Carbohydrate

20.3g

19.9g

Sugars

13.0g

8.1g

Sugars

13.4g

12.0g

Sugars

17.2g

16.9g

Sodium

5mg

3mg

Sodium

1mg

1mg

Sodium

1mg

1mg

Sometimes nutrients can go

undercover and use a
different name
Names for Fat

Names for Sugar

Names for Salt

Beef fat
Butter
Coconut oil
Cocoa butter
Copha
Diglycerides
Dripping
Hydrogenated Vegetable oil
Lard
Monoglycerides
Palm oil
Shortening
Tallow

Brown/raw sugar
Corn syrup
Cane sugar
Dextrose
Disaccharides
Fructose
Glucose
Golden syrup
Honey
Invert sugar
Lactose
Malt
Malt extract
Maltose
Molasses
Sorbitol
Sucrose

Celery salt
Chicken salt
Garlic salt
Rock salt
Sea salt
Sodium (any type)
Table salt
Vegetable salt

It is best to investigate the

nutrition panel and the
ingredients list
The Nutrition Panel tells you
the amount of nutrients in a
serving and per 100g
NUTRITIONAL INFORMATION
Servings per Pack: 6
Serving Size: 31.3g (1 bar)
Quantity
Per
Serving

% Daily
Intake Per
Serving

Quantity
Per 100g

Energy

540kj

6%

1720kj

Protein

1.8g

4%

5.8g

Fat

4.2g

6%

13.4g

Saturated Fat

1.4g

6%

4.4g

Carbohydrate

19.8g

6%

63.3g

Sugars

6.8g

8%

21.8g

Dietary Fibre
Sodium

1.8g
5mg

6%
0.2%

5.9g
12mg

The Nutrition Panel tells you

the amount of nutrients in a
serving and per 100g
Ingredients:
Wholegrain cereal (38%) (rolled oats (28%)
whole wheat (10%)), glucose (wheat), dried
apricot (9%), vegetable oil (emulsifier (soy
lecithin) antioxidants (334, 305)), rice puffs,
(rice flour, oat flour, maize starch, sugar)
coconut, dried apple, skim milk powder,
honey, emulsifier (soy lecithin), flavour,
food acid (citric) preservative (sulphur
dioxide)**
Contains oats, wheat, milk, soy and
sulphites as indicated in bold type. Made
on a line that also processes products
containing tree nuts.
** Some ingredients contain sulphur
dioxide to maintain the natural colour and
shelf life.
Ingredients that are in bold may be harmful to
people with allergies

SUPER SLEUTH
CHALLENGE 3
Using the package provided, your mission is to
locate the Ingredients List to identify the main
nutrients contained in the food product
Refer to your worksheet for full details of what to record.
At the end of 10 minutes you will be asked to return to
your seated position on the floor

Some people have another

motive for choosing one
product over another:

They make MORAL choices

What could they be?

Some MORAL considerations

Vegetarian/
vegan

Australian
Made

Eat local

Religious

Organic

Environmental

CONGRATULATIONS!
You have helped Super Sleuth
Sam solve the case by:
Understanding why it is important to read labels

Knowing what to look for in a nutrition panel

Interpreting an ingredient list so you can make

HEALTHIER FOOD CHOICES