Week 9 : Biodiversity in the supermarket

Question 1

There are 10 different variants of healthier choice symbols. What nutrients are these symbols based on? [5]

Answer 1

fat, saturated fat, sugar, sodium and dietary fibre

Question 2

What is the difference between : “Lower in sugar” vs “No added sugar” vs “Sugar free?”

Answer 2

Lower in sugar : contains added sugar but it lower amounts compared to similar beverages

No added sugar : contains naturally present sugar but no additional sugars present (e.g. fruit juice, dried fruit, chilled fruit etc)

Sugar-free : does not contain free sugars

Question 3

What are free sugars?

Answer 3

monosaccharides, disaccharides which are added to foods OR sugars naturally present in honey, syrup, fruit juice, fruit juice concentrate

Question 4

What does it mean when a sweetener is nutritive?

Answer 4

It contains calories

Question 5

What is the difference between sweetening agents and sweeteners?

Answer 5

Sweeteners contain free sugars while sweetening agents do not

• Sweetening agents are also usually non-nutritive but sweeteners are

Question 6

Nutrition claims about what kinds of substances are not allowed?

Answer 6

Phytochemicals, antioxidants, elixir-like compounds

Question 7

Apart from listing down allergens, a symbol for allergens is required. True or False?

Answer 7

False

Question 8

The expiry/best before date is still valid once the package is open. True or False?

Answer 8

False, not valid once opened

Question 9

What is the difference between expiry date and best before date?

Answer 9

Expiry date : the last day when the food product is safe to eat

Best before : The last day that the food product maintains its quality

Question 10

The logos for food safety process labels are usually certified. True or False?

Answer 10

True

Question 11

what is the benefit of having food safety process labels, such as HACCP/ GMP (good manufacturing practices)

Answer 11

Builds assurance and trust with customers

Question 12

Sustainability logos are all certified. True or False?

Answer 12

False

Question 13

For sustainability logos, logos are usually for? [3]

Answer 13

1. Sustainable raw material
2. Sustainable labour
3. Sustainable packaging

Question 14

What is the problem with organic / natural / real-fruits labels?

Answer 14

The terms are not regulated

• A candy can be made from real fruits by using 0.1% extract from lemons!

Question 15

There is a legal definition of a ‘clean label’. True or False?

Answer 15

False

Question 16

What is considered as a clean label, in the most general sense?

Answer 16

Clean labels do not have E numbers, do not have complicated chemical names that are unfamiliar and cannot be linked to names of ingredients commonly found in kitchen

Question 17

What are 2 problems associated with clean labels?

Answer 17

1. Consumer definition of naturalness of food ingredients is subjective
2. Naturalness of ingredient can be decided based on many criteria ((e.g. how the ingredient is named, types of background info consumers are exposed to, familiarity with ingredient, times & trends)