The Smart Consumer

Choosing where to shop • Store features

• Question to ask yourself

• trends • Fresh refrigerated ready-to-eat meal items• - involves pairing items from

different grocery sections to prompt consumers to buy and use the products together

• Self

• shopping• Buying groceries online• - subscription fees, delivery fees, &

percentage of total bill

Types of Stores• - vary in size

• Self-service• Food & nonfood• - delis and bakeries• - home delivery, credit,

pharmacy, & banking

• - sell food in large quantities at reduced prices • Sell same products as • May not carry fresh meat or produce

• : fresh fruits & vegetables

Types of Stores cont.

• - large or small • Cost usually higher

• - carry one specific type of product • Dairies, bakeries, butcher shops, ethnic

market• - sell ready-to-eat foods,

cold meats, salads, and rolls

Types of Stores cont.

• - reduced prices on products from individual food manufactures• May not meet the manufacturers quality

standards

• - owned and operated by groups of consumers• Keep prices low by buying food in bulk,

leaving of profit, and requriing volunteer labor

Types of Stores cont.

• - sell food directly from the farm to the consumer• Fresher produce at lower prices

• - open near farms during the growing season• Usually just one family runs them

Using a Shopping List

• Save time, avoid extra trips, & stick

• Keep in handy and before you shop

• Organize your list

Shopping Tips • Read labels• Compare • Compare - per serving, fresh,

frozen, and canned • Buy foods that are in • Take advantage of • Prepare food from scratch • Resist • Do not take a cart if you only need a few

items• Do not shop when you are hungry

Using Unit Pricing

• : list of product’s cost per standard unit, weight, or measure

• Can compare the cost of different forms of products

• Need to be aware of food’s per serving costs as well as their unit price

Factors That Affect Costs• : evaluating

different brands, sizes, and forms a product before making a purchase decision

• : making an unplanned purchase without much thought

• Using coupons cut only if you need the product

• : indication of quality • Higher the grade, higher the price

Factors That Affect Costs cont.• : name a manufacturer puts

on products• : house brand, sold only by a store or

chain of stores• : advertised and sold throughout the

country • : plain-labeled, non-brand grocery

product - low quality

• Packaging• : thinking about how packaging material

scan be reused or recycled before you buy the product

Organic Foods

• : foods produced without the use of synthetic fertilizers, pesticides, or growth stimulants

• : agents used to kill insects, weeds, and fungi that attack crops

• Limit types of fertilizers

• Higher cost because harder to come by

Food Additives • : substances that are added

to food for specific purpose, such as preserving the food

• Ad nutrients• Preserve quality• Aid processing or preparation• Enhance flavor or color• : “generally recognized as safe”

about 600 additives that can be used without permission

• Anything else needs to have permission from the FDA

Using Food Labeling

• Common name and

• or weight of the contents, including any liquid in which foods are packed

• of the manufacturer, packer, or distributor

• List of ingredients, in

Using Food Labeling cont. • (UPC): series of

lines, bars, and numbers that appears on packages of food and nonfood items

• : uses dates consumers can clearly recognize on perishable and semi-perishable foods• - date food was processed and

packaged• - last day a store should sell a product• - last day a consumer should use or

eat a food• - found on bakery products

Using Food Labeling cont.

• : breakdown of a food product’s contributions to an average diet • Serving size• Number of serving per container• Calorie information• Nutrients found in each serving of

food products • Total fat, saturated fat, cholesterol,

sodium, total carbohydrate, dietary fiber, sugars, & protein, vitamin A, vitamin C, calcium, & iron

• : dietary references that appear on food labels

• Help consumers use label information to plan healthy diets

• Maximum fat and minimum carbohydrate and fiber

• - based on 2,000 calories diet are given for each of the nutrients listed on the label

• Health and/or nutritional claims about their food products on product labels

• FDA has set standards

• Low fat, high fiber,and reduced calories