Nutrition: Scotland
How Food Standards Agency Scotland is working to improve Scotland's diet.
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Accessing healthy food in Scotland
The Food Standards Agency Scotland has today published a new study, which looks at the availability of affordable healthy food across Scotland.
Broadcast media for children: nutrient profiling
The Agency has developed a nutrient profiling model as a tool to differentiate foods which are high in fat, saturated fat, salt or sugar. The model is being used by media and communications regulator Ofcom to regulate the advertising and promotion of foods to children.
Catering for Health
A guide for teaching healthier catering practices.
Folic acid fortification
On 17 May 2007, the Food Standards Agency Board agreed unanimously that 'mandatory fortification' with folic acid should be introduced, alongside controls on voluntary fortification and advice on the use of supplements.
Food and Health Alliance
The Food and Health Alliance is managed by NHS Health Scotland and supported by the Scottish Executive and the Food Standards Agency Scotland.
Front-of-pack (FOP) nutrition labelling
The Agency recommends a consistent approach to front-of-pack (FOP) nutrition labelling that provides 'at a glance' information on labels about the nutritional content of foods through the use of traffic light colours.
Get Cooking!
The aim of 'Get Cooking!' is to provide trainers with a toolkit to teach young people, broadly between the ages of 14 and 25, some basic cooking skills in a community setting.
HHEAPS (Hygiene, Healthy Eating and Activity in Primary Schools) initiative
The HHEAPS Initiative (Hygiene, Healthy Eating and Activity in Primary Schools) has been developed by FSA Scotland as a resource for schools to raise children's awareness of the benefits of food hygiene, healthy eating and physical activity.
Healthy catering
The food we eat outside the home makes up an increasingly important part of our diet. The average person eats one in every six meals out of home and if we add in snacks and 'grab and go' food, men consume about a quarter of their calories when eating out, and women around a fifth. So, the choices we make when eating out can go a long way to help us to maintain a balanced diet.
Monitoring Scottish dietary targets
The Scottish dietary targets formed the basis of the 1996 Scottish Office report 'Scottish Diet Action Plan.' The 2003 document 'Improving Health in Scotland: the Challenge' committed the Scottish Executive to continue the further implementation of the Scottish Diet Action Plan well beyond 2005.
Promoting school food policy
The Agency has been working in partnership with the School Food Trust and the National Governors' Association to provide advice for schools to help them develop policies on healthier packed lunches and school food policies in general.
Review of resources for first-time self-caterers
As part of the FSA Scotland strategy to improve access to healthier food choices, a review of educational resources for assisting populations self-catering for the first time was commissioned by Food Standards Agency Scotland in 2005.
Salt
Most people eat too much salt. This can raise blood pressure, which increases your risk of heart disease and stroke. We can all take steps to eat less salt by shopping wisely and being sparing with salt at home.
Saturated fat and energy
Currently people are eating more saturated fat, on average, than is recommended, and rising levels of obesity indicate that energy intakes currently exceed energy requirements. Both these issues raise serious health concerns, particularly in relation to coronary heart disease, some cancers and type 2 diabetes.
Scottish Diet and Nutrition Strategy
Food Standards Agency Scotland has outlined its main strategies for improving Scotland's diet.
Scottish teaching tools
Resources developed to help teachers in Scotland enable young people to learn how to choose, cook and eat safe healthy food.
Survey of sugar intake
This survey from Food Standards Agency Scotland shows that the main sources of sugar in the diets of children living in Scotland are soft drinks, confectionery, biscuits and cakes.
Target nutrient specifications for Scotland
Revised target nutrient specifications for manufactured foods used in school meals in Scotland
The eatwell plate floor mat activity
Your eatwell plate floor mat can have a variety of uses. One suggestion is to use the floor mat in group work with a selection of foods from each food section.
Using the eatwell plate
The eatwell plate makes healthy eating easier to understand by giving a visual representation of the types and proportions of foods people need for a healthy and well balanced diet.