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Food Labels
The following information is from the Food and Drug
Administration, updated July, 2003 Sample label for
People look at food labels for different reasons. Macaroni & Cheese
But whatever the reason, many consumers 1
would like to know how to use this information Nutrition Facts
more effectively and easily. The following guid- Start Serving Size 1 cup (228g)
ance is intended to make it easier for you to use Here Serving Per Container 2
nutrition labels to make quick, informed food 2
choices that contribute to a healthy diet. Calories Amount Per Serving
The Nutrition Facts panel has two parts: Calories 250 Calories from Fat 110
The main or top section (see #1-5 on the sample % Daily Value*
nutrition label below), which contains product- Total Fat 12g 18%
specific information (serving size, calories, and 3 Saturated Fat 3g 15% 55
nutrient information) that varies with each food Limit
Trans Quick
product; and the bottom part (see #6 on the these Trans Fat 1.5g
sample nutrition label below), which contains a Nutrients Cholesterol 30mg 10% Guide
footnote. This footnote is only on larger pack- Sodium 470mg 20% to % DV
ages and provides general dietary information Total Carbohydrate 31g 10%
about important nutrients. Dietary Fiber 0g 0% 5% or
The Serving Size (#1 on sample label): less
Sugars 5g is Low
The first place to start when you look at the Protein 5g 20% or
Nutrition Facts panel is the serving size and the 4 more
number of servings in the package. Serving Get Vitamin A 4% is High
sizes are provided in familiar units, such as cups Enough Vitamin C 2%
or pieces, followed by the metric amount, e.g., of these
the number of grams. Serving sizes are based Nutrients Calcium 20%
on the amount of food people typically eat, Iron 4%
which makes them realistic and easy to com- *Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.
pare to similar foods. Pay attention to the Your Daily Values may be higher or lower depending on
serving size, including how many servings your calorie needs:
there are in the food package, and compare 6 Calories: 2,000 2,500
it to how much YOU actually eat. The size of Footnote Total Fat Less than 65g 80g
the serving on the food package influences all Sat Fat Less than 20g 25g
the nutrient amounts listed on the top part of Cholesterol Less than 300mg 300mg
the label. In the sample label above, one serving Sodium Less than 2,400mg 2,400mg
Total Carbohydrate 300g 375g
of macaroni and cheese equals one cup. If you Dietary Fiber 25g 30g
ate the whole package, you would eat two cups.
Calories and Calories From Fat
(#2 on sample label): much. They are identified in yellow on the chart
Calories provide a measure of how much energy as Limit these Nutrients. Eating too much fat,
you get from a serving of this food. The label also saturated fat, trans fat, and cholesterol, or sodium
tells you how many of the calories in one serving may increase your risk of certain chronic dis-
come from fat. In the example, there are 250 calo- eases, like heart disease, some cancers, or high
ries in a serving of this macaroni and cheese. How blood pressure. Eating too many calories is linked
many calories from fat are there in ONE serving? to overweight and obesity. *Note: Health experts
Answer: 110 calories, which means almost half recommend that you keep your intake of saturat-
come from fat. What if you ate the whole package ed fat, trans fats and cholesterol as low as possi-
content? Then, you would consume two servings, ble as part of a nutritionally balanced diet.
or 500 calories, and 220 would come from fat.
Eating too many calories per day is linked to Get Enough of These (#4 on sample label):
overweight and obesity. Americans often don't get enough dietary fiber,
The Nutrients (#3 and 4 on sample label): vitamin A, vitamin C, calcium, and iron in their
Look at the top section in the sample nutrition label. It diets. They are identified in blue on the chart as
shows nutrients that are important for your health and Get Enough of these Nutrients. Eating enough of
separates them into two main groups: these nutrients can improve your health and
help reduce the risk of some diseases and condi-
Limit These Nutrients (#3 on sample label): tions. For example, getting enough calcium can
The nutrients listed first are the ones Americans reduce the risk of osteoporosis, in which bones
generally eat in adequate amounts, or even too become brittle and break as one ages.
limit of 100% DV? Check the
The Percent Daily Value (%DV): Quick Guide to
This part of the Nutrition Facts panel tells you %DV. You see that 18%DV, which is below
whether the nutrients (fat, sodium, fiber, etc) in 20%DV, is not yet high, but what if you ate the
a serving of food contribute a lot or a little to whole package (two servings)? You would dou-
your total daily diet. By diet we mean all the dif- ble that amount, eating 36% of your daily
ferent foods you eat in a day. allowance for Total Fat. That amount, coming
%DVs are based on recommendations for a from just one food, would contribute a lot of fat
2,000 calorie diet. For labeling purposes, FDA to your daily diet. It would leave you 64% of your
set 2,000 calories as the reference amount for fat allowance (100%-36%=64%) for all of the
calculating %DVs. The %DV shows you the per- other foods you eat that day, snacks and drinks
cent (or how much) of the recommended daily included.
amount of a nutrient is in a serving of food. By Nutrients that Have No %DV: Trans fats,
using the %DV, you can tell if this amount is Sugars, and Protein:
high or low. Note that Trans fats, Sugars, and Protein do not
It's not hard to follow nutrition experts' advice list a %DV on the Nutrition Facts panel.
for a healthy diet. Try to limit your total daily Trans Fat: Scientific reports link trans fat (and
intake of fat, saturated fat, sodium, and choles- saturated fat) with raising LDL ("bad") blood
terol to
less than 100%DV. cholesterol levels, both of which increase your
Likewise, you should try to get enough essential risk of coronary heart disease, a leading cause
nutrients like calcium, iron, and vitamins A and of death in the US. But experts could not provide
C as well as other components such as dietary a reference value for trans fat nor any other
fiber. Try to average 100% for each one of these information that FDA believes is sufficient to
nutrients each day. establish a Daily Value or %DV.
%DVs are easy to use. Sugars: No daily reference value has been
Do you need to know how to calculate percent- established because no recommendations have
ages to follow this advice? No, the label (the been made for the total amount of sugars to eat
%DV) does the math for you. It helps you inter- in a day. Keep in mind, the sugars listed on the
pret the numbers (grams and milligrams) by put- Nutrition Facts panel include naturally occurring
ting them all on the same scale (0-100%DV), sugars (like those in fruit and milk) as well as
much like a ruler. This way you can tell high those added to a food or drink. Check the ingre-
from low and know which nutrients contribute a dient list for specifics on added sugars.
lot, or a little, to your daily recommended Protein: A %DV is required to be listed if a claim
allowance (upper or lower). is made for protein, such as "high in protein".
Example of %DV for Total Fat: If you cover up Otherwise, unless the food is meant for use by
the %DVs on the sample label, can you tell if 12g infants and children under 4 years old, none is
of Total Fat is high or low? Another way of ask- needed. Current scientific evidence indicates
ing this question is, does one serving (contain- that protein intake is not a public health concern
ing 12g of fat) contribute a lot or a little Total Fat for adults and children over 4 years of age.
to your daily diet? To limit nutrients that have no %DV, like
Now look at the %DVs on the label example: 12g trans fat and sugars, compare the labels of
fat equals 18%DV. When one serving of maca- similar products and choose the food with
roni and cheese contains 18%DV for Total Fat, the lowest amount.
that means you have 82% of your fat allowance The Footnote, or lower part of the Nutrition
left for all the other foods you eat that day Facts Panel (#6 on sample label)
(100%-18%=82%). Note the * used after the heading "%Daily Value"
Quick Guide to %DV (#5 on sample label): on the Nutrition Facts panel. It refers to the
Footnote in the lower part of the nutrition label,
This general guide tells you that 5%DV or which tells you that "%DVs are based on rec-
less is low and 20%DV or more is high. This ommendations for a 2,000 calorie diet". This
means that 5%DV or less is low for all nutri- statement must be on all food labels. But the
ents, those you want to limit (e.g., fat, saturat- remaining information in the full footnote may
ed fat, cholesterol, and sodium), and those that not be on the package if the size of the label is
you want to consume in greater amounts (fiber, too small. When the full footnote does appear, it
calcium, etc). As the Quick Guide shows, will always be the same. It doesn't change from
20%DV or more is high for all nutrients. product to product, because it shows dietary
Example: Look again at the amount of Total Fat advice for all Americans--it is not about a spe-
in one serving listed on the sample nutrition cific food product.
label for macaroni and cheese. Is 18%DV con-
tributing a lot or a little to your maximum fat Source: Food and Drug Administration: updated July, 2003
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