Labels Giving Nutritional Information On Food Packaging - IELTS Listening Answers & Explanations
From Cambridge IELTS 13 Academic Listening Test 4 · Part 3 · Questions 21–30
Audio
Questions
Questions 21–26 Multiple Choice (One Answer)
Choose the correct letter, A, B or C.
Labels giving nutritional information on food packaging
Questions 27–28 Multiple Choice (Two Answers)
Choose TWO letters, A-E.
Questions 29–30 Multiple Choice (Two Answers)
Choose TWO letters, A-E.
Answers & Explanations Summary
| # | Answer | Evidence | Explanation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Q21 | A | I’ve never really been concerned enough to check how healthy a product is. | Excerpt/Transcript Explanation: The transcript shows that Jack did not worry or care enough to look at how healthy a product is. Answer Explanation: The answer suggests that Jack did not read everything on the nutritional food labels. Reason For Correctness: The correct answer is 'A' because Jack's statement of not being concerned about checking how healthy a product is aligns with the interpretation that he didn't read everything on the food labels. This shows his attitude of not paying much attention to the nutritional information provided on the packaging. |
| Q22 | A | I tended to believe claims on packaging like ‘low in fat’. But I now realise that the ‘healthy’ yoghurt I’ve bought for years is full of sugar and that it’s actually quite high in calories. | Excerpt/Transcript Explanation: The transcript is saying that Alice used to trust labels on food packaging that claimed the food was 'healthy' or 'low in fat'. However, after reading the nutritional information, she realized that the yogurt she thought was healthy actually contained a lot of sugar and was high in calories. Answer Explanation: The answer suggests that Alice was unaware of the actual contents of certain foods before starting the project. Reason For Correctness: The correct answer is 'A' because in the excerpt, Alice mentions that she used to believe the claims on food packaging without really knowing what certain foods contained. This shows that before starting the project, she was indeed unaware of the actual nutritional content of the foods she was consuming. |
| Q23 | C | Yes, because unless you read the label really carefully, you wouldn’t know that the nutritional values given are for half a pizza. | Excerpt/Transcript Explanation: The transcript is saying that unless you look closely at the label, you might not realize that the nutritional information is only for half a pizza, not the whole pizza. Answer Explanation: The answer means that Jack will hesitate before buying pizza again because he might be concerned about the nutritional information being unclear. Reason For Correctness: The correct answer is C because the conversation suggests that Jack will be more cautious about buying pizza in the future due to realizing that the nutritional label could be misleading since it only represents half a pizza's value. |
| Q24 | C | I’m not sure it’s the easiest for people to use but at least you get the full story. | Excerpt/Transcript Explanation: The transcript suggests that the daily value system may not be the easiest for people to use, but it provides all the necessary information. Answer Explanation: The answer indicates that Jack prefers the daily value system because it gives a full and complete picture of the nutritional information. Reason For Correctness: The correct answer, 'C - more comprehensive,' is supported by the excerpt because even though the daily value system may not be the easiest to use, it does provide detailed and extensive nutritional information, making it more comprehensive than other labeling systems. |
| Q25 | B | Yeah. I don’t understand how they can get away with calling them chicken flavour when they only contain artificial additives. | Excerpt/Transcript Explanation: The transcript shows that the speaker is surprised that crisps labeled as chicken flavor only contain artificial additives. Answer Explanation: The answer suggests that what surprised the students about one flavor of crisps was the fact that the products did not contain any meat. Reason For Correctness: The correct answer is 'B' because the speaker mentions that the crisps are called chicken flavor but only contain artificial additives, indicating that they did not contain any meat as expected. This aligns with answer choice 'B' about the products not containing any meat. |
| Q26 | A | Those findings weren’t that conclusive | Excerpt/Transcript Explanation: The transcript is saying that the results of the research were not very clear or definite. Answer Explanation: The answer indicates that the students did not think the research produced clear results. Reason For Correctness: The correct answer is 'A' because it aligns with the transcript excerpt stating that the findings weren't conclusive, meaning they were not definitive or clear. |
| Q27 | — | — | |
| Q28 | B / C | Buy it’s not been adopted universally what I couldn’t get over is the fact that it was brought in without enough consultation |
Excerpt/Transcript Explanation: The transcript mentions that the traffic-light system for nutritional labels has not been accepted everywhere and highlights the lack of sufficient consultation before its implementation. Answer Explanation: The answer indicates that the students were surprised by how little research was conducted before introducing the traffic-light system. Reason For Correctness: The correct answer (B, C) aligns with the excerpt as it reflects the surprise expressed by the students regarding the lack of consultation and thorough research done prior to implementing the traffic-light system for nutritional labels. |
| Q29 | — | — | |
| Q30 | D / E | Yeah. But it’s good to get feedback from all socio-economic groups. But if they hadn’t interviewed participants face-to-face, they could have used a much bigger sample size. |
Excerpt/Transcript Explanation: The transcript mentions that it's important to gather feedback from people in all different social and economic groups. The text also suggests that if they had not conducted face-to-face interviews, they could have included more participants. Answer Explanation: The answer indicates that the participants in the study were from all socio-economic groups and were interviewed face-to-face. Reason For Correctness: The correct answer is D and E because the excerpt mentions the importance of having participants from all socio-economic groups and conducting face-to-face interviews. This shows that the study participants were diverse in terms of socio-economic backgrounds and were interviewed in person. |
Transcript
JACK: I’ve still got loads to do for our report on nutritional food labels.
ALICE: Me too. What did you learn from doing the project about your own shopping habits?
JACK: Well, I’ve always had to check labels for traces of peanuts in everything I eat because of my allergy. But beyond that I’ve never really been concerned enough to check how healthy a product is.
ALICE: This project has actually taught me to read the labels much more carefully. I tended to believe claims on packaging like ‘low in fat’. But I now realise that the ‘healthy’ yoghurt I’ve bought for years is full of sugar and that it’s actually quite high in calories.
JACK: Ready meals are the worst … comparing the labels on supermarket pizzas was a real eye-opener. Did you have any idea how many calories they contain? I was amazed.
ALICE: Yes, because unless you read the label really carefully, you wouldn’t know that the nutritional values given are for half a pizza.
JACK: When most people eat the whole pizza. Not exactly transparent is it?
ALICE: Not at all. But I expect it won’t stop you from buying pizza?
JACK: Probably not, no! I thought comparing the different labelling systems used by food manufactures was interesting. I think the kind of labelling system used makes a big difference.
ALICE: Which one did you prefer?
JACK: I liked the traditional daily value system best – the one which tells you what proportion of your required daily intake of each ingredient the product contains. I’m not sure it’s the easiest for people to use but at least you get the full story. I like to know all the ingredients in a product – not just how much fat, salt and sugar they contain.
ALICE: But it’s good supermarkets have been making an effort to provide reliable information for customers.
JACK: Yes. There just needs to be more consistency between labelling systems used by different supermarkets, in terms of portion sizes, etc.
ALICE: Mmm. The labels on the different brands of chicken flavour crisps were quite revealing too, weren’t they?
JACK: Yeah. I don’t understand how they can get away with calling them chicken flavour when they only contain artificial additives.
ALICE: I know. I’d at least have expected them to contain a small percentage of real chicken.
JACK: Absolutely.
ALICE: I think having nutritional food labeling has been a good idea, don’t you? I think it will change people’s behaviour and stop mothers, in particular, buying the wrong things.
JACK: But didn’t that study kind of prove the opposite? People didn’t necessarily stop buying unhealthy products.
ALICE: They only said that might be the case. Those findings weren’t that conclusive and it was quite a small-scale study. I think more research has to be done.
JACK: Yes, I think you’re probably right.
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JACK: What do you think of the traffic-light system?
ALICE: I think supermarkets like the idea of having a colour-coded system – red, orange or green – for levels of fat, sugar and salt in a product.
JACK: Buy it’s not been adopted universally. And not on all products. Why do you suppose that is?
ALICE: Pressure from the food manufacturers. Hardly surprising that some of them are opposed to flagging up how unhealthy their products are.
JACK: I’d have thought it would have been compulsory. It seems ridiculous it isn’t.
ALICE: I know. And what I couldn’t get over is the fact that it was brought in without enough consultation – a lot of experts had deep reservations about it.
JACK: That is a bit weird. I suppose there’s an argument for doing the research now when consumers are familiar with this system.
ALICE: Yeah, maybe.
JACK: The participants in the survey were quite positive about the traffic-light system.
ALICE: Mmm. But I don’t think they targeted the right people. They should have focused on people with low literacy levels because these labels are designed to be accessible to them.
JACK: Yeah. But it’s good to get feedback from all socio-economic groups. And there wasn’t much variation in their responses.
ALICE: No. But if they hadn’t interviewed participants face-to-face, they could have used a much bigger sample size. I wonder why they chose that method?
JACK: Dunno. How were they selected? Did they volunteer or were they approached?
ALICE: I think they volunteered. The thing that wasn’t stated was how often they bought packaged food – all we know is how frequently they used the supermarket.