Applying Chemical Research to Food Labels

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Food Label Analysis

 

  1. Food Ingredient Analysis:

Buying foods can be confusing.  By reading the food label and ingredient list you will be well armed with information that will help you decide about the foods and chemicals you are putting into your body.  Today we will look at ingredient lists of foods and research the most common food additives.

 

First, when you are researching, remember that the source that you read is important.  Here are some sources that you can trust.  If you find others, please cite them.

 

 

Mayo Clinic

Healthline

Medical News Today

National Library of Medicine (NCBI)

 

 

  1. For Homework:
  2. Find the ingredient list for a food you would like to learn more about or a favorite food.

 

  1. Complete research on these chemicals/additives. These are the most commonly used food additives in the U.S.
  Uses Risks
MSG  

 

 

 

 

  
Maltodextrin  

 

 

 

 

  
Sodium Nitrate  

 

 

 

 

  
Guar Gum  

 

 

 

 

  
High fructose corn syrup  

 

 

 

 

  
Artificial sweeteners  

 

 

 

 

  
Artificial colors  

 

 

 

 

  
Sodium Benzoate  

 

 

 

 

  
Artificial flavorings  

 

 

 

 

  
Alpha-tocopherol  

 

 

 

 

  
Ascorbic acid  

 

 

 

 

  
Aspartame  

 

 

 

 

  
BHA and BHT  

 

 

 

 

  
Carrageenan  

 

 

 

 

  
Trans-fats  

 

 

 

 

  

 

  1. Applying Chemical Research to Food Labels
  2. Insert a picture of the name of the food and its ingredient list here:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  1. Looking at the ingredient list you chose, provide the list of ingredients in this chart and then fill in what you have learned. If there are any ingredients that you didn’t research yet, do some quick research to fill in the blanks.

 

Ingredients Uses Risks
 

 

    
 

 

    
 

 

    
 

 

    
 

 

    
 

 

    
 

 

    
 

 

    
 

 

    
 

 

    
 

 

    
 

 

    

 

  1. Form a conclusion about the food that you are researching. Explain your reasoning.

 

 

 

 

  1. Food Label Analysis:

Remember that there are:

 

  • 4 calories per gram of protein.

 

  • 4 calories per gram of carbohydrate

 

  • 9 calories per gram of fat

 

  • 7 calories per gram of alcohol

 

 

  1. First, let’s practice figuring out how many calories of the macros are in certain foods. I’ll do this first one for you:

 

This label comes from a bag of chips:

 

  1. How many calories (of the 160 in the serving) come from fat? Carbs? Protein?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  1. What percent of the serving comes from fat? Carbs?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

One more label:

 

 

  1. Of the 340 calories, how many come from fat? Carbs? Protein?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  1. What percent of the burger is fat? Protein? Carbohydrate?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  1. When looking at ingredient lists what are three things you will consider before buying a food?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  1. When looking at a food label, what are three things you will consider before buying the item?