Introductory Letter to Teachers


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Introductory Letter to Teachers. . .

Dear Teacher:

The new food label is here. To help your students understand it and use it to choose a healthy diet, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the International Food Information Council Foundation are pleased to present The New Food Label: There's Something In It For Everybody.

The new food label is the result of the Nutrition Labeling and Education Act of 1990. It brings nutrition information on food packages into the 1990's by addressing the diet and health issues that affect so many of today's Americans. One of the most important of these issues: Teenagers' need for diets that promote optimal growth and development.

As youngsters reach their teens and begin to make most of their own food choices and even help with the family grocery shopping, they need to be aware of the newest and single most important tool to help them "eat healthy." And they need to understand how quick and easy it is to use the new food label.

This program contains lesson plans, handouts, charts, worksheets, and lists of suggested activities that cover the whole gamut of food labeling—from product dating to the new Nutrition Facts panel. There is also a quiz to help evaluate students' comprehension of the subject, and a resource list for additional information. The program fits in with a variety of curriculum areas: health, family and consumer sciences, biology, math, social studies, and general home economics.

The new food label is simple to use, and yet it is an enormously powerful tool. It presents a great deal of information in a format that is easy to understand. Its appearance on food packages represents nothing less than a milestone in the public health of this nation.

We urge you to use The New Food Label: There's Something In It For Everybody in your classroom and to share it with other teachers at your school.

If you have any questions or comments about the program, please write to FDA at The New Food Label, HFI-40, 5600 Fishers Lane, Rockville, MD 20857. Thank you.

David A. Kessler, M.D.
Commissioner of Food and Drugs

Sylvia B. Rowe
President
International Food Information Council