Title: Use the nutrition facts label to evaluate the nutritional quality of foods.
Course: Nutrition and Wellness (19253-36) > Section: Planning Menus and Preparing Food

Use of the nutrition facts label should include

- examining package labels to identify
  - nutritional information (nutrients, amount of each nutrient, percentage of minimum daily requirement for each nutrient)
  - ingredients
  - serving size and number of servings per package
  - calories per serving
- reading the whole label and applying nutrient density to make informed decisions
- selecting products that are consistent with USDA dietary guidelines
- other package information (e.g., health claims, storage instructions, expiration, sell-by and use-by date.

Process/Skill Questions:

Thinking

- What types of information found on food labels is most helpful to you as a consumer?
- How could you use this information when purchasing various foods?
- What are the consequences of not using label information when deciding whether to purchase a food item?

Communication

- How do we determine whether the label information is accurate? Why is it important to evaluate the accuracy of the information?
- Which label information do you think should be required by law? Why?
- Who benefits from information on nutrition labels?

Leadership

- How can the information on a nutrition label assist you in implementing the Dietary Guidelines for Americans or MyPlate?
- Why do you think the federal government changes its requirements for nutrition labels?
- What can consumers do to influence the content of food product labels?

Management

- How can food product labels help us manage the responsibility of meal planning?
- What management skills do we use when we examine food labels before buying?
- How can food labels help us stay within our budget?