Labeling Terms & Food Safety

Readeatability (Reading about what you eat)

HR Monthly Mtg. Safety Topic

J. Andres, J. Mera, J. Botala
25 Aug. 2017

Marathon Equatorial Guinea Production Limited

 What is all of this about?

“Become Label Conscious”

Reading nutrition labels on food products can help selecting healthier choices.
It is on your call the choice between healthy eating or junk eating!

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Food Labeling Systems

 Nutrition Facts Sheet

 Traffic Light

 Facts Up Front

 Barcodes vs. Made in

 Best by/before, used by, sell by;

What’s the difference?

Do not be misled by advertisement.

Make sure you decode any brand of
product you digest into your system!

Marathon Equatorial Guinea Production Limited 3

I Really Need to Know this Gen – What to Look For?
Start with Serving Size (at one time, Single):
 Portion Size (the amount you actually eat)
 Intake = #Servings x #Portions
Next, Check Total Calories:
 # Calories in a Single Serving
 Intake = #Servings x #Calories
Limit these Nutrients:
 Saturated Fat, added sugar, Sodium
 Avoid Trans Fat (biscuits, MW popcorn…)
Get Enough of these Nutrients:
 Dietary Fiber, protein, vitamins, Ca, Fe, …
Guide to % Daily Value (DV):
 % of each nutrient in a single serving.
 ≤ 5% saturated fat, add. Sugar, Sodium
 ≥ 20% vitamins, fiber, minerals

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Guidelines to Pay Attention to: Key Nutrients
Total Fat – > risks of heart disease, HBP…
 High: > 17.5g of fat per 100g
 Low: ≤ 3g of fat per 100g
Saturated Fat – > risk of heart disease, HBP…
 High: > 5g of sat. fat per 100g
 Low: ≤ 1.5g of sat. fat per 100g
Sugars – > slows down metabolism
 High: > 22.5g of total sugars per 100g
 Low: ≤ 5g of total sugars per 100g.
Salt - > High blood pressure
 High: > 1.5g of salt per 100g (0.6g Na)
 Low: ≤ 0.3g of salt per 100g (0.1g Na)
Calories:
 ≤ 40 Cal. is low
 ≤ 100 Cal. Is moderate
 ≥ 400 Cal. High.

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Tell Me more of this Good Gen
Traffic Light

 Lozenge shape, color-coded scheme to

alert consumers to
 Low (green)
 Medium (amber)
 High (red)

levels of certain nutrients

 A Kcal (Cal) – per serving label indicating

amount of sat. fat, sugars & sodium per
serving.

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Oh, Interesting. Now I see, I am Finally Getting this!

 The innovative front-of pack nutrition labeling

 Displaying – key nutrients per serving:

 Calories
 Saturated fat
 Sodium &
 Sugars

 Summarizing key nutrients in a clear, simple

and easy-to-use format on the front of food
and beverage packages

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 Never thought of this, What does it mean?

Barcodes vs. Made in

 Industry’s head quarter/license
country (not related to quality)
License Country

 USA 000 – 019, 030 – 039, 060 – 139

 UK – 500 -509
 China 690 – 695
 Africa 600 – 619,…
Country of Origin

 Country where the product is

actually being Manufactured.


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Is that Everything I Need to Know?
Used-By (Quality Warranty):
 Aimed at consumers – directive of the date by
which the product should be eaten.
 Product quality and safety likely to lessened
much faster (risk of food poisoning if eaten).

Sell-By (Product Display):

 Aimed at retailer – date by which product
should be sold or removed from shelf life.
 Not related to quality/safety of product.

Best-by/before (Expiration Date):

 A suggestion to Consumers – date by which
product should be consumed for ideal quality.
 Safe to consume few weeks/months after
expiry but quality guaranteed until the date.

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What’s Next?
 What about:
 Family meals?
 Food eaten at the canteen?
 Take away (from restaurants…)?
Are these served with nutritional labels?
Knowledge on Nutrition Basics
may help making healthy choices!
Take this Training Home with You
References:
 http://www.eatright.org/resource/food/nutrition/nutrition-facts-and-
food-labels/the-basics-of-the-nutrition-facts-panel
 http://www.nutritionalinformationservices.co.uk/tag/food-labelling/
 http://www.barcoding.com/blog/barcode-prefixes-and-product-
country-of-origin/
 https://www.fda.gov/food/ingredientspackaginglabeling/labelingnutri
tion/ucm274593.htm
 https://familydoctor.org/nutrition-how-to-read-a-nutrition-facts-
label/
 https://healthyforgood.heart.org/eat-smart/articles/understanding-
food-nutrition-labels
 http://www.uconnruddcenter.org/resources/upload/docs/what/indus
try/FactsUpFrontLabel_AJPM_8.12.pdf
 https://www.theguardian.com/society/2013/jun/19/traffic-light-
health-labels-food
 http://www.resourcesorg.co.uk/assets/pdfs/foodtrafficlight1107.pdf
 https://livewellforless.sainsburys.co.uk/multi-traffic-light-labelling/
 https://becleverwithyourcash.com/best-use-best-dates-whats-
difference/
 http://www.ift.org/knowledge-center/learn-about-food-science/food-
facts/the-difference-between-useby-sellby-and-bestby-dates.aspx
 https://www.bda.uk.com/foodfacts/TransFats.pdf
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