Nutrition and Food · Food Labels
Compare the nutrition labels of packaged snacks
Record the sugar, salt and fat in 20 snacks and rank them per 100 g and per pack.
- DifficultyEasy
- Estimated time2–7 days
- Budget₹0
- ClassClass 7–12
- TeamSolo or up to 2
- You needNo equipment
Prerequisites: Percentages
Original · by TechnifyedData AnalysisInvestigationBeginner friendlyFree to doNo equipmentResearch orientedWell documented
This project is for learning and awareness. It is not medical advice and must not be used to diagnose or treat anyone.
Overview
Labels give values per 100 g, but people eat packs. Converting both ways and comparing with daily limits shows which snacks are far less healthy than they look.
Why build this?
You will read labels differently for the rest of your life, and so will your class.
What you will learn
- How to read a nutrition label
- How to convert between per 100 g and per serving
- How to compare with recommended daily limits
- How marketing claims differ from the numbers
Skills you will use
Materials and tools
- 20 snack packets or their labels
- Published daily limits for sugar, salt and fat
Tools and software
Step-by-step roadmap
Start
You will finish with: a ranked table, a traffic-light chart and three surprises.
- 1
Prerequisites
Know this first: percentages. Then collect the 2 items in the materials list.
- 2
Learn
- How to read a nutrition label
- How to convert between per 100 g and per serving
- How to compare with recommended daily limits
- How marketing claims differ from the numbers
- 3
Plan
Write the research question, who or what you will study, how many, and the exact questions or measures.
- 4
Build
- Record energy, sugar, salt and fat per 100 g for 20 snacks.
- Calculate the amounts per pack.
- Express each as a percentage of the daily limit.
- Rank the snacks.
- Note any health claims on the front and check them against the numbers.
- Make a traffic-light chart.
- 5
Test
Recheck three labels with a classmate.
- 6
Document
Keep the raw responses or data safe, anonymise names, and build the tables and charts. Report structure
- 7
Present
State the question, the method in one line, the two or three main findings and their limits. Presentation structure · Viva questions
- 8
Publish
Share a short paper or poster; offer a summary to the people who took part.
Expected outcome
A ranked table, a traffic-light chart and three surprises.
Other versions of this project
Beginner version
Compare the sugar in ten drinks, shown as teaspoons.
Advanced version
Compare "healthy" branded snacks with ordinary ones.
Research version
Survey whether showing teaspoons of sugar changes classmates' choices.
Make this project better
- BasicCompare the sugar in ten drinks, shown as teaspoons.
- This projectCompare the nutrition labels of packaged snacks
- AdvancedCompare "healthy" branded snacks with ordinary ones.
- ResearchSurvey whether showing teaspoons of sugar changes classmates' choices.
Ways to do this project
Text marked "You write this" is a prompt for your own work; everything else is specific to this project.
- Problem
- You write thisWrite your question as: How does [what you change] affect [what you measure]?
- Hypothesis
- You write thisWrite it as: If [I change this], then [this will happen], because [reason].
- Variables
- You write thisName the one thing you change (independent), the thing you measure (dependent) and what you keep the same (controlled).
Materials and procedure are in Materials and the Roadmap.
Observation table
You write thisDraw a table with one column for what you change, one for each repeat reading and one for the average.
- Graph
- You write thisPlot what you changed along the bottom and what you measured up the side; use a bar chart for categories and a line graph for numbers.
- Results
- You write thisState what the graph shows in one or two sentences, with numbers.
- Conclusion
- You write thisSay whether the result supports your hypothesis and why you think so.
Display board
- Title and your name
- Question
- Hypothesis
- Materials
- Procedure (with photos)
- Data table and graph
- Conclusion
- What you would do next
Questions judges ask
- How many grams is a teaspoon of sugar?
- Why compare per 100 g?
- What claim was most misleading?
- What would you change if you did this again?
- What was your biggest source of error, and how did you reduce it?
- Where is this idea used in real life?
- Research question
- You write thisOne question you can answer with data, narrow enough to finish in the time you have.
- Hypothesis
- You write thisWhat you expect to find, and why.
- Variables
- You write thisWhat you change or compare, what you measure, and what you hold constant.
- Methodology
- Survey whether showing teaspoons of sugar changes classmates' choices.
- Data collection
- You write thisSay what you will record, how many times, and how you will keep the records safe.
- Analysis
- You write thisChoose the table, chart or test that answers the question; report averages with their spread.
- Limitations
- You write thisList what could have affected the result: small sample, instrument limits, things you could not control.
Literature review
Find five to eight sources (your textbook, review articles, reports) and note what each says about your question. Group them by idea, not one after another, and end with what is still not known.
References
List every source you used in one style throughout (author, year, title, where it was published, link and the date you opened it).
Working as a team
Solo or up to 2. Suggested roles:
Report and presentation
Report structure
- Title
- Abstract
- Introduction and research question
- Review of what is already known
- Method: sample, tools, procedure
- Findings (tables and charts)
- Discussion
- Limitations
- Conclusion and suggestions
- References
- Annexure: questionnaire or data
Presentation structure
- Research question
- Why it matters
- Method and sample
- Finding 1
- Finding 2
- Finding 3
- What it means
- Limitations
- Conclusion
Viva questions
Try answering before you open each one.
How many grams is a teaspoon of sugar?
About four grams.
Why compare per 100 g?
It allows fair comparison between products of different sizes.
What claim was most misleading?
Give your example.
Is this dietary advice?
No, it is information for awareness.
Resources
Decision making with spreadsheetIIT Roorkee · Free course course
33 Spreadsheet Projects Course for Beginners – Excel and Google SheetsfreeCodeCamp · Free video course
Analyzing Spreadsheet Data with PythonIBM · Free course courseLibreOfficelibreoffice.orgICMR National Institute of Nutritionnin.res.inSource and attribution
Original
Written by Technifyed. Free to use for your own school or college project; write the report in your own words. Added 1 Oct 2026.
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