*
Estimated duration: 60 min. without dissemination
Aims of this module: to form participants’ knowledge about food conservatives used for the production of food products; to develop the skills of making independent decisions necessary for an independent life; to develop intrinsic motivation to learn; to foster a responsible attitude of participants towards their health; to form participants’ ideas about the need to monitor the quality of food consumed.
I ENERGIZER
„Check what you eat”
Duration: 5-7 min.
Group size: Any
Materials: A whiteboard.
The facilitator brings attention of the participants and asks whether they have heard the saying: “We do not live in order to eat, but we eat in order to live” (written on the whiteboard).
The s/he tells the story of a patient who came to a healer complaining of abdominal pain. The healer asked him what he ate? When the patient replied that he had eaten for lunch, the healer prescribed eye drops for him and adding “Next time you must see what you eat.”
After the story facilitator asks for reflection from participants.
Hints for The Facilitator:
* Ask the participants for similar stories/legends they had heard before;
* Give some examples on what can cause problems and what type of food can be dangerous for our body.
II MAIN ACTIVITY
„How food additives affect health”
Duration: around 40 min.
Group size: around 30 people
Materials: Infographic with types of additives (Appendix 1).
Facilitator starts the activity with explanation of the basic condition for a healthy diet – food must be safe and sanitary. Each product should have its own nutritional value, contain nutrients useful to humans. Then facilitator shows the poster with types of additives (see Appendix 1). The s/he can ask what do the participant know about the additives and why are they being used.
Then facilitator spreads the wrappers from different products (drinks, chocolate bars, ready-to-cook food etc.) Participants shall investigate the content and pick up the additives in the content.
The spotted E’s shall be writing on the whiteboard with a short explanation on the nature of each, and searching whether these additives are hazardous or not.
Then, the participants shall be split into two subgroups – “We are for a healthy diet” and “We need food additives”. Each subgroup prepares the arguments for its name. Finally, the facilitator summarizes the discussions and underlines the importance of using the healthy additives.
Hints for The Facilitator:
- Explain the difference of food products after adding the additives – change in consistency with various dyes, stabilizers and synthetic compounds.
- Challenge the participants to think on what they were consuming in the daily life and whether they had thought about additives.
- Bring the products that participants usually consume.
- Use some apps for smartphones that can explain the additives
III EVALUATION
„Stay up-to-date”
Duration: 15 min.
Group size: Any
Materials: Infographic with E’s and recommendations.
After all the activities the Facilitator summarizes the participants the most important issues from the lesson. Participants give examples on products containing most additives. The facilitator presents the poster with recommendations on what to be taken into consideration when selecting the food.
The exercise ends with the conclusion that food that does not contain foreign impurities hazardous to human health can be only be considered environmentally friendly.
Hints for The Facilitator:
- Emphasize that most of the food products contain the additives.
- Make sure that the participants convinced that most food additives have a negative impact on health.
IV DISSEMINATION
Home activity “Let’s take care of ourselves”
Duration: 2-3 weeks
Group size: Any
Materials: Notebook, poster in the classroom with stick notes divided into two parts in the center.
The participants shall be challenged to investigate the food products that are being bought by family members. The participants will note all E numbers they found. These will be analyzed so that healthy and harmful ones will be written on the sticky notes that will be glued to the according side of the poster. After two weeks, facilitator can hold a short summary on the findings to ensure the absorption of the lesson content by participants.