Following the success of the Preston FoodSafe scheme, which displayed inspection results of Preston’s takeaways and restaurants on the Internet, the Council is now keen to engage the public with healthy eating.
Preston’s Environmental Health Manager Simon Neighbour said: "Food poisoning kills two people a day in the UK, but a further 120 die from diet related diseases, such as diabetes and heart disease".
The Recipe for Health scheme encourages children to take an interest in eating healthy foods by engaging them in fun activities, such as "Face Fruit" painting, which teaches them the advantages of eating fruit every day.
"Secret Agent" weeks involve children spying on their parents at home in order to educate them about healthy lifestyles outside of school.
The Food Standards Agency has also set up the Cooking Bus scheme, which travels around the country to engage children in interactive cooking sessions in their state-of-the-art mobile kitchen.
Alongside this, children and parents can also visit The Food Standards Agency Eatwell website, which includes information about nutrition, hygiene standards, diet related diseases and exercising.
The Eatwell Plate uses colourful photographs to demonstrate the different food groups that should be incorporated into a healthy diet, such as vegetables, meat, bread and dairy.
The character "Virtual Sam" helps children understand the importance of these food groups through short video clips. She discusses issues such as why children should never miss breakfast, and offers advice on substituting fatty foods for healthier versions, such as having chicken burgers instead of beef burgers.
Interactive elements are also available to help children relate to the information. Games such as The Barbeque Game and The Healthy Lunchbox allow children to test their knowledge on how to cook foods properly, and how to ensure they get enough nutrition from their school dinners.
Quizzes for older children help them identify where to make adjustments in their eating habits, and advice is provided for sensible snacking and eating takeaway foods.
Interactivity is also useful for parents. BMI calculators determine whether a child is scientifically classed as healthy, underweight or obese, in relation to their height and weight.
The calorie calculator shows how many calories can be burnt from doing various exercises, from playing football and tennis, to cleaning the windows and ironing!
Charts and tables are a quick and easy way for people to calculate if their weight is proportional to their height and waist measurement, and what classifies as one portion of fruit or vegetable.
ONE portion = 80g = any of these
1 apple, banana, pear,
orange or other similar sized fruit
2 plums or similar sized fruit
½ a grapefruit or avocado
1 slice of large fruit, such as melon or pineapple
3 heaped tablespoons of vegetables (raw, cooked, frozen or tinned)
3 heaped tablespoons of beans and pulses (however much you eat, beans and pulses
count as a maximum of one portion a day)
3 heaped tablespoons of fruit salad
(fresh or tinned in fruit juice) or stewed fruit
1 heaped tablespoon of
dried fruit (such as raisins and apricots)
1 handful of grapes, cherries or berries
a dessert bowl of salad
a glass (150ml) of fruit juice (however
much you drink, fruit juice counts as a maximum of one portion a day)
Luckily McDonalds, whose Preston’s branch received five stars for hygiene standards through the FoodSafe scheme, offers a variety of healthy foods in its children’s Happy Meals, such as fruit bags and carrots sticks.
The McDonalds website includes a "Be Active" section to "help inspire children to be more active", and the "Eat Smart" section includes a nutrition counter to show customers how many grams of salt and fat contribute to their chosen meals.
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