120 Dietary Guidelines: Using the Food Label
The Nutrition Facts label and the ingredients list on packages of foods and beverages are useful tools that can help consumers learn about what is in foods and beverages (Figure A4-1). Food labeling can help consumers evaluate and compare the nutritional content and/or the ingredients in foods and beverages. This can help them identify the calorie and nutrient content of a food and select foods with higher or lower amounts of certain nutrients that fit within an overall healthy eating pattern.
Nutrition Facts Label
The Nutrition Facts label provides the number of calories that are in a serving of food and the number of servings that are in a package (e.g., can or box). This information can be used to determine how many calories are being consumed from one serving, or from that portion eaten if it is more or less than one serving. For example, if a package contains two servings and the entire package is consumed, then twice the calories and nutrients listed in the Nutrition Facts label are being consumed.
The Nutrition Facts label also provides information on the amount (i.e., grams [g] or milligrams [mg]) per serving of dietary fiber, as well as the amount of certain nutrients that should be limited in the diet, including saturated fat, trans fat, cholesterol, and sodium. It is mandatory for this information to be provided on the Nutrition Facts label.
The label also provides the percent Daily Value for these nutrients (except trans fat and sugars) and several shortfall nutrients, including dietary fiber and calcium. The Daily Value is based on a reference intake level that should be consumed or should not be exceeded. The percent Daily Value can be used to determine whether a serving of a food contributes a lot or a little of a particular nutrient and provides information on how a serving of the food fits in the context of a total daily diet. The higher the percent Daily Value, the more that serving of food contributes to an individual’s intake of a specific nutrient. Foods that are “low” in a nutrient generally contain less than 5 percent of the Daily Value. Foods that are a “good” source of a nutrient generally contain 10 to 19 percent of the Daily Value per serving. Foods that are “high” or “rich” in or are an “excellent” source of a nutrient generally contain 20 percent or more of the Daily Value per serving.
The footnote at the bottom of the Nutrition Facts label provides the Daily Values for total fat, saturated fat, cholesterol, sodium, total carbohydrate, and fiber, based on a 2,000 or 2,500 calorie diet. The Daily Value for these nutrients, other than cholesterol and sodium, would be higher or lower depending on an individual’s calorie needs (e.g., the lower one’s calorie needs, the lower the Daily Value for the particular nutrients).
Solid fats are not specified on the Nutrition Facts label. However, consumers can look at the saturated fat and trans fat content of a food in the Nutrition Fac