CHAPTER 5 LESSON 4

Food & Healthy Living

Food and Healthy Living

Information on packaged and prepared foods can help you determine whether or not a particular product meets your nutritional needs.

Nutrition Labeling – examine almost any food package and you’ll find a nutrition facts panel.

The law requires that these information panels be placed on packages of food that are intended for sale.

Nutrition Labeling

Ingredients List – most food labels list the food by weight. The ingredient in greatest amount listed first.

Example: When three sweeteners – sugar, honey, and corn syrup – are used in the same product, each is listed separately. Therefore they will appear lower on the list than if they were counted as one.

Food Additives – substances intentionally added to food to produce a desired effect.

These are used to enhance color, flavor, or increase storage life.

Product Labeling

Along with nutrition information, food labels may state the potential Health benefit of a food.

Product labels may advertise a food’s nutrient value. Claims such as “100% Fat” or “Low in Sodium.”

Light or Lite - Calories have been reduced by at least 1/3, or the fat or sodium has been reduced by at least 50%.

Less – The food contains 25% less of a nutrient or of calories than a comparable food.

Product Labeling

Free – the food contains no amount of total fat, saturated fat, cholesterol, sodium, sugars, or calories.

More – the food contains 10% more of the daily value for a vitamin, mineral, protein, or fiber.

Excellent Source of – The food contains 20% or more of the Daily Value for a vitamin, mineral, protein, or fiber.

Lean – The food is a meat, poultry, or fish product that has less than 10 grams of total fat, less than 4 grams of saturated fat, and less than 95mg of cholesterol per 3oz serving.

Open Dating

Many food products have Open Dates on their labels.

Canned foods eaten after these dates are safe, but they may not taste fresh.

Open dates on meat can help you make decisions about the food’s safety.

Open Dating

Expiration Date – the last date you should use the product.

Freshness Date – The last date the food is considered to be fresh.

Pack Date – the date on which the food was packaged.

Sell-By Date – the last date the product should be sold.

Food Allergies

Food Allergy – a condition I which the body’s immune system reacts to substances in some food.

These substances are called allergens, they are proteins that the body reacts to.

Examples; peanuts, tree nuts, eggs, soy, and shellfish are the most common.

Reactions may include rash, hives, itchiness, diarrhea, vomiting, or abdominal pain.

A simple blood test can indicate whether a person is allergic to a specific food.

Food Intolerances

Food Intolerance – is a negative reaction to a food or part of food caused by a metabolic problem, such as the inability to digest certain food or food components.

May be associated with milk, wheat, or food additives.

May be caused by heredity, such as a reduced ability to digest lactose.(milk sugar)

Foodborne Illness

Foodborne Illness – food poisoning.

“Employees must wash hands before returning to work.” This is a way to help prevent foodborne illness.

Many time the contaminant can’t be seen, smelled, or tasted.

Causes and Symptoms of Foodborne Illness

Bacteria contaminates: Campylbactor, Salmonella, and E. coli.

Viruses include: Norwalk viruses.

Symptoms: nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, and fever.

Foods can be contaminated in two ways.

1. By pathogens spread by an infected person.

2. By animals raised or caught for food that may harbor disease causing organisms in their tissues.

Minimizing Risks of Foodborne Illness

Pasteurization – is the process of treating a substance with heat to destroy or slow the growth of pathogens.

Food Safety Education: 4 steps to keep food safe.

1. Clean2. Separate3. Cook4. Chill

Clean

Cross-contamination – the spreading if bacteria or other pathogens from one food to another.

Wash hands thoroughly in soap and water.

Wash cutting boards, utensils, plates, and countertops.

Use cutting boards made of nonporous materials like plastic or glass.

Wash fruits and vegetables before eating.

Separate

To avoid cross-contamination, separate raw meats, fish, and poultry from other items.

Keep raw meats on the bottom shelf.

Use separate cutting boards for raw meats and vegetables.

Never put cooked food on a plate that previously held raw food.

Cook

Cook foods to a safe temperature.

160 for ground beef 170 for roasts and

poultry. 145 for fish. Do not eat ground

beef that is still pink after being cooked.

Sauces, soups, and gravies should be brought to a boil before serving.

Chill

Cold temperatures slow the multiplication of bacteria.

Refrigerate or freeze perishable foods as soon as you get home.

Refrigerator 40 or less Freezer at 0 Refrigerate or freeze

leftovers within two hours of a meal, even sooner on a hot day.

Defrosting Foods

Do not defrost food on a kitchen counter.

Thaw foods in a refrigerator or in the microwave.

You can defrost food under running water, but do not put food on the bottom of the sink.