Reading Food Labels
% Daily Value
The % Daily Value (%DV) is based on a 2,000-calorie diet. The guidelines call for obtaining approximately 30 percent of each day’s calories from fat, 60 percent from carbohydrates and 10 percent from protein. If you use the gram information on the label, here are some guidelines:
Calories per day 1,600 2,000 2,500 Total fat 53 65 80 Saturated fat 18 20 25 Carbohydrate 240 330 375 Protein 46 50 65
Vitamin and mineral amounts as %DV on nutrition label
The %DV for vitamins and minerals gives a general idea of how much one serving of a food contributes to the vitamin and mineral recommendations listed in the total daily requirement. For example, if the vitamin C %DV listed on the foods you eat in a day adds up to 100 percent, you are getting the recommended amount of vitamin C.
Understanding U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) terms
Food packages aim to get our attention, using various techniques to get us to buy the product they hold. For many years, specific nutrient descriptors and claims appeared on packages with only loosely defined forms of standardization. Today, descriptors such as "high-fiber," "light" or "low-fat," as well as specific nutrient claims, are strictly regulated. The claims listed below mean the same thing on every label no matter which brand you purchase, and have been standardized by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
Watch out for these terms
Caloric terms:
Low-calorie: Forty calories or less per serving.
Reduced-calorie: At least 25 percent fewer calories per serving compared to a similar food.
Light, lite: One-third fewer total calories or 50 percent less fat per serving. If more than half the
calories are from fat, the fat content must be reduced by 50 percent or more.
Sugar terms:
Sugar-free: Less than ½ gram (g) of sugar per serving.
Reduced sugar: At least 25 percent less sugar per serving compared to a similar food.
Fat terms:
Fat-free: Less than ½ g of fat per serving.
100 percent fat-free: Meets the requirements for fat-free.
Low-fat: Three grams of fat or less per serving.
Reduced-fat: At least 25 percent less fat compared to a similar food.
Sodium terms:
Sodium-free: Less than 5 milligrams (mg) of sodium per serving.
Salt-free: Meets the requirements for sodium-free.
Cholesterol terms:
Cholesterol-free: Less than 2 mg of cholesterol per serving, and 2 g or less of saturated fat per serving.
Low cholesterol: 20 mg or less of cholesterol per serving, and 2 g or less of saturated fat per serving.
References 1. National Institutes of Health. National Library of Medicine. 2016. Food labeling. MedlinePlus. Last reviewed April 24. http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/002459.htm.
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