Food Labels - Reading Nutrition Facts Label
The nutrition facts label and the ingredient list are two important tools in determining the nutritional value of a product in an individual’s diet. Label is designed to be easier for consumers to read and understand, also reflects serving size for many foods. The serving size listed on the nutrition facts label is based on the amount of food that individuals are typically thought to eat during one sitting.
Reading Food Labels
The nutrition facts label is required to display the following information -
The number of servings per container.
Serving size.
Total calories per serving.
Amount of total fat per serving (in grams), saturated fat (in grams), and trans fat (in grams).
Cholesterol (in milligrams).
Sodium (in milligrams).
Total carbohydrates (in grams).
Dietary fiber (in grams).
Total sugars and added sugars (in grams).
Protein (in grams).
Amounts and the Percent Daily Value for the vitamins and minerals: vitamin D (in micrograms), calcium (in milligrams), iron (in milligrams), and potassium (in milligrams).
Using the Percent Daily Value -
Percent daily values are, essentially, tools to indicate if a product is particularly high or low in a listed nutrient. They allow a person to figure out if the product is a good source of any listed nutrients. The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics (AND) recommends that consumers generally choose products that provide 5% or less of total fat, saturated fat, cholesterol, and sodium and 20% or more for fiber, vitamins, and minerals. Generally, a percent daily value of 5 or less means that the product is low in that particular nutrient and a value of 20 or more means that it is high in that nutrient. Consumers can therefore use the 5 and 20 rule to compare products and select those that meet their specific dietary needs and health goals.
