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How to Understand and Use the Nutrition Facts Label

On this page:

The
Nutrition Facts Panel - An Overview

The
Serving Size

Calories
(and Calories from Fat)

The
Nutrients: How Much?

Understanding
the Footnote

How
the Daily Values (DV) Relate to the %DVs

The
Percent Daily Value (%DV)

Quick
Guide to %DV

Nutrients
With a %DV but No Weight Listed - Spotlight on Calcium

Nutrients
Without a %DV: Trans Fats, Protein, and Sugars

People look at food labels for different reasons. But whatever the reason,
many consumers would like to know how to use this information more effectively
and easily. The following label-building skills are intended to make it easier
for you to use nutrition labels to make quick, informed food choices that
contribute to a healthy diet.

The Nutrition Facts Label - An Overview:

The information in the main or top section (see #1-4 and #6 on the sample
nutrition label below), can vary with each food product; it contains
product-specific information (serving size, calories, and nutrient information).
The bottom part (see #5 on the sample label below) contains a footnote with
Daily Values (DVs) for 2,000 and 2,500 calorie diets. This footnote provides
recommended dietary information for important nutrients, including fats, sodium
and fiber. The footnote is found only on larger packages and does not change
from product to product.

In the following Nutrition Facts label we have colored certain sections to
help you focus on those areas that will be explained in detail. You will not see
these colors on the food labels on products you purchase.

The
Serving Size

(#1
on sample label):

The first place to start when you look at the Nutrition Facts label is the
serving size and the number of servings in the package. Serving sizes are
standardized to make it easier to compare similar foods; they are provided in
familiar units, such as cups or pieces, followed by the metric amount, e.g., the
number of grams.

The size of the serving on the food package influences the number of calories
and all the nutrient amounts listed on the top part of the label. Pay
attention to the serving size, especially how many servings there are in the
food package. Then ask yourself, "How many servings am I consuming"? (e.g., 1/2
serving, 1 serving, or more) In the sample label, one serving of
macaroni and cheese equals one cup. If you ate the whole package, you would eat
two cups. That doubles the calories and other nutrient numbers,
including the %Daily Values as shown in the sample label.

Example

Single Serving

%DV

Double Serving

%DV

Serving Size

1 cup (228g)

2 cups (456g)

Calories

250

500

Calories from Fat

110

220

Total Fat

12g

18%

24g

36%

Trans Fat

1.5g

3g

Saturated Fat

3g

15%

6g

30%

Cholesterol

30mg

10%

60mg

20%

Sodium

470mg

20%

940mg

40%

Total Carbohydrate

31g

10%

62g

20%

Dietary Fiber

0g

0%

0g

0%

Sugars

5g

10g

Protein

5g

10g

Vitamin A

4%

8%

Vitamin C

2%

4%

Calcium

20%

40%

Iron

4%

8%

Calories
(and Calories from Fat)

Calories provide a measure of how much energy you get from a serving of this
food. Many Americans consume more calories than they need without meeting
recommended intakes for a number of nutrients. The calorie section of the label
can help you manage your weight (i.e., gain, lose, or maintain.)
Remember: the number of servings you consume determines the number of
calories you actually eat (your portion amount).

(#2
on sample label):
In the example, there are 250 calories in one serving
of this macaroni and cheese. How many calories from fat are there in ONE
serving? Answer: 110 calories, which means almost half the calories in a single
serving come from fat. What if you ate the whole package content? Then, you
would consume two servings, or 500 calories, and 220 would come from fat.

General Guide to Calories

40 Calories is low

100 Calories is moderate

400 Calories or more is high

The General Guide to Calories provides a general reference
for calories when you look at a Nutrition Facts label. This guide is based on a
2,000 calorie diet.

Eating too many calories per day is linked to overweight and
obesity.

The
Nutrients: How Much?

Look at the top of the nutrient section in the sample label. It shows you
some key nutrients that impact on your health and separates them into two main
groups:

Limit These Nutrients

(#3
on sample label):
The nutrients listed first are the ones Americans
generally eat in adequate amounts, or even too much. They are identified in
yellow as Limit these Nutrients. Eating too much fat, saturated
fat, trans fat, cholesterol, or sodium may increase your risk of
certain chronic diseases, like heart disease, some cancers, or high blood
pressure.

Important: Health experts recommend that you keep your intake of
saturated fat, trans fat and cholesterol as low as possible as part of
a nutritionally balanced diet.

Get Enough of These

(#4
on sample label):
Most Americans don't get enough dietary fiber, vitamin
A, vitamin C, calcium, and iron in their diets. They are identified in blue as
Get Enough of these Nutrients. Eating enough of these nutrients
can improve your health and help reduce the risk of some diseases and
conditions. For example, getting enough calcium may reduce the risk of
osteoporosis, a condition that results in brittle bones as one ages (see calcium
section below). Eating a diet high in dietary fiber promotes healthy bowel
function. Additionally, a diet rich in fruits, vegetables, and grain products
that contain dietary fiber, particularly soluble fiber, and low in saturated fat
and cholesterol may reduce the risk of heart disease.

Remember: You can use the Nutrition Facts label
not only to help limit those nutrients you want to cut back on but also
to increase those nutrients you need to consume in greater
amounts.

Understanding
the Footnote on the Bottom of the Nutrition Facts Label

(#5
on sample label)
Note the * used after the heading
"%Daily Value" on the Nutrition Facts label. It refers to the Footnote in the
lower part of the nutrition label, which tells you "%DVs are based on a
2,000 calorie diet". This statement must be on all food labels. But the
remaining information in the full footnote may not be on the package if the size
of the label is too small. When the full footnote does appear, it will always be
the same. It doesn't change from product to product, because it shows
recommended dietary advice for all Americans--it is not about a specific food
product.

Look at the amounts circled in red in the footnote--these are the Daily
Values (DV) for each nutrient listed and are based on public health experts'
advice. DVs are recommended levels of intakes. DVs in the footnote are based on
a 2,000 or 2,500 calorie diet. Note how the DVs for some nutrients change, while
others (for cholesterol and sodium) remain the same for both calorie amounts.

How the Daily Values Relate to the %DVs

Look at the example below for another way to see how the Daily Values (DVs)
relate to the %DVs and dietary guidance. For each nutrient listed there is a DV,
a %DV, and dietary advice or a goal. If you follow this dietary advice, you will
stay within public health experts' recommended upper or lower limits for the
nutrients listed, based on a 2,000 calorie daily diet.

Examples of DVs versus %DVs
Based on a 2,000 Calorie
Diet

Nutrient

DV

%DV

Goal

Total Fat

65g

= 100%DV

Less than

Sat Fat

20g

= 100%DV

Less than

Cholesterol

300mg

= 100%DV

Less than

Sodium

2400mg

= 100%DV

Less than

Total Carbohydrate

300g

= 100%DV

At least

Dietary Fiber

25g

= 100%DV

At least

Upper Limit - Eat "Less than"...

The nutrients that have "upper daily limits" are listed first on the footnote
of larger labels and on the example above. Upper limits means it is recommended
that you stay below - eat "less than" - the Daily Value nutrient amounts listed
per day. For example, the DV for Saturated fat (in the yellow section) is 20g.
This amount is 100% DV for this nutrient. What is the goal or dietary advice? To
eat "less than" 20 g or 100%DV for the day.<

Lower Limit - Eat "At least"...

Now look at the section in blue where dietary fiber is listed. The DV for
dietary fiber is 25g, which is 100% DV. This means it is recommended that you
eat "at least" this amount of dietary fiber per day.

The DV for Total Carbohydrate (section in white) is 300g or 100%DV. This
amount is recommended for a balanced daily diet that is based on 2,000 calories,
but can vary, depending on your daily intake of fat and protein.

Now let's look at the %DVs.

The
Percent Daily Value (%DV):

The % Daily Values (%DVs) are based on the Daily Value recommendations for
key nutrients but only for a 2,000 calorie daily diet--not 2,500 calories. You,
like most people, may not know how many calories you consume in a day. But you
can still use the %DV as a frame of reference whether or not you consume more or
less than 2,000 calories.

The %DV helps you determine if a serving of food is high or low in a
nutrient. Note: a few nutrients, like trans fat, do not have a
%DV--they will be discussed later.

Do you need to know how to calculate percentages to use the %DV? No, the
label (the %DV) does the math for you. It helps you interpret the numbers (grams
and milligrams) by putting them all on the same scale for the day (0-100%DV).
The %DV column doesn't add up vertically to 100%. Instead each nutrient is based
on 100% of the daily requirements for that nutrient (for a 2,000 calorie diet).
This way you can tell high from low and know which nutrients contribute a lot,
or a little, to your daily recommended allowance (upper or
lower).

Quick Guide to %DV:

5%DV or less is low and 20%DV or more is high
(#6
on sample label):
This guide tells you that 5%DV or less is
low for all nutrients, those you want to limit (e.g., fat, saturated
fat, cholesterol, and sodium), or for those that you want to consume in greater
amounts (fiber, calcium, etc). As the Quick Guide
shows, 20%DV or more is high for all nutrients.

Example: Look at the amount of Total Fat in one serving
listed on the sample nutrition label. Is 18%DV contributing a lot or a little
to your fat limit of 100% DV? Check the Quick Guide to %DV.
18%DV, which is below 20%DV, is not yet high, but what if you ate the whole
package (two servings)? You would double that amount, eating 36% of your daily
allowance for Total Fat. Coming from just one food, that amount leaves you
with 64% of your fat allowance (100%-36%=64%) for all of the other
foods you eat that day, snacks and drinks included.

1 serving

2 servings

Using the %DV for:

Comparisons: The %DV also makes it easy for you to make
comparisons. You can compare one product or brand to a similar product. Just
make sure the serving sizes are similar, especially the weight (e.g. gram,
milligram, ounces) of each product. It's easy to see which foods are higher or
lower in nutrients because the serving sizes are generally consistent for
similar types of foods, (see the comparison
example at the end) except in a few cases like cereals.

Nutrient Content Claims: Use the %DV to help you
quickly distinguish one claim from another, such as "reduced fat" vs. "light" or
"nonfat." Just compare the %DVs for Total Fat in each food product to see which
one is higher or lower in that nutrient--there is no need to memorize
definitions. This works when comparing all nutrient content claims,
e.g., less, light, low, free, more, high, etc.

Dietary Trade-Offs: You can use the %DV to help
you make dietary trade-offs with other foods throughout the day. You
don't have to give up a favorite food to eat a healthy diet. When a food you
like is high in fat, balance it with foods that are low in fat at other times of
the day. Also, pay attention to how much you eat so that the
total amount of fat for the day stays below 100%DV.

Nutrients With a %DV but No Weight Listed - Spotlight on
Calcium:

Calcium:  Look at the %DV for calcium on food
packages so you know how much one serving contributes to the total amount
you need per day. Remember, a food with 20%DV or more contributes a lot of
calcium to your daily total, while one with 5%DV or less contributes a
little.

Experts advise adult consumers to consume adequate amounts of calcium, that
is, 1,000mg or 100%DV in a daily 2,000 calorie diet. This advice is often given
in milligrams (mg), but the Nutrition Facts label only lists a
%DV for calcium.

For certain populations, they advise that adolescents, especially girls,
consume 1,300mg (130%DV) and post-menopausal women consume 1,200mg (120%DV) of
calcium daily. The DV for calcium on food labels is 1,000mg.

Don't be fooled -- always check the label for calcium
because you can't make assumptions about the amount of calcium in specific
food categories. Example: the amount of calcium in milk, whether skim or
whole, is generally the same per serving, whereas the amount of calcium in the
same size yogurt container (8oz) can vary from 20-45 %DV.

Equivalencies

30% DV = 300mg calcium = one cup of milk

100% DV = 1,000mg calcium

130% DV = 1,300mg calcium

Nutrients Without a %DV: Trans Fats, Protein, and
Sugars:

Note that Trans fat, Sugars and, Protein do not list a %DV on the
Nutrition Facts label.

Plain Yogurt

Fruit Yogurt

Trans Fat: Experts could
not provide a reference value for trans fat nor any other information
that FDA believes is sufficient to establish a Daily Value or %DV. Scientific
reports link trans fat (and saturated fat) with raising blood LDL
("bad") cholesterol levels, both of which increase your risk of coronary heart
disease, a leading cause of death in the US.

Important: Health experts recommend that you keep your intake of
saturated fat, trans fat and cholesterol as low as possible as part of
a nutritionally balanced diet.

Protein: A %DV is required to be listed if a claim is
made for protein, such as "high in protein". Otherwise, unless the food is meant
for use by infants and children under 4 years old, none is needed. Current
scientific evidence indicates that protein intake is not a public health concern
for adults and children over 4 years of age.

Sugars: No daily reference value has been established
for sugars because no recommendations have been made for the total amount to eat
in a day. Keep in mind, the sugars listed on the Nutrition Facts label include
naturally occurring sugars (like those in fruit and milk) as well as those added
to a food or drink. Check the ingredient list for specifics on added sugars.

Take a look at the Nutrition Facts label for the two yogurt examples. The
plain yogurt on the left has 10g of sugars, while the fruit yogurt on the
right has 44g of sugars in one serving.

Now look below at the ingredient lists for the two yogurts. Ingredients are
listed in descending order of weight (from most to least). Note that no added
sugars or sweeteners are in the list of ingredients for the plain yogurt, yet
10g of sugars were listed on the Nutrition Facts label. This is because there
are no added sugars in plain yogurt, only naturally occurring sugars (lactose
in the milk).

Plain Yogurt - contains no added sugars

Fruit
Yogurt - contains added sugars

If you are concerned about your intake of sugars, make sure that added sugars
are not listed as one of the first few ingredients. Other names for added sugars
include: corn syrup, high-fructose corn syrup, fruit juice concentrate, maltose,
dextrose, sucrose, honey, and maple syrup.

To limit nutrients that have no %DV, like trans fat and
sugars, compare the labels of similar products and choose the food with the
lowest amount.

Comparison Example

Below are two kinds of milk- one is "Reduced Fat," the other
is "Nonfat" milk. Each serving size is one cup. Which has more calories
and more saturated fat? Which one has more calcium?

REDUCED FAT MILK
2% Milkfat

NONFAT MILK

Answer: As you can see, they
both have the same amount of calcium, but the nonfat milk has no saturated
fat and has 40 calories less per serving than the reduced fat
milk.

This document was issued in June 2000 and updated July 2003 and
November 2004.
For more recent information see Nutrition Facts Label Programs and Materials.

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Page Last
Updated: 03/02/2013
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