2. How to Understand and Use the Nutrition Facts Label
Decoding the Label
How to Understand and Use the Nutrition Facts Label
Opening Discussion Questions:
What are the most important things you take into account when you buy foods?
In the last year, have you made any changes in the foods you buy or eat for health reasons?
Do you use the nutrition information on food labels? If so, what do you pay attention to most?
Have you been surprised by any information you found on the Nutrition Facts label of a product? What did you discover and how did it influence your purchases?
People look at food labels for different reasons. Many consumers would like to know how to use this information more effectively and easily. We are going to learn some label reading skills to make it easier for you to use nutrition labels to make quick, informed food choices that contribute to a healthy diet. Food labels give much information needed to make wise food choices. They can help you compare similar food items to make the best selection. Let’s see how it works.

3. (In Slide Show mode - Click to begin the video clip when you are ready to show it. After the main video, there will be a short pause followed by a few questions about food labels. You will need Windows Media Player to be able to play the video from PowerPoint. This software can be downloaded at from the Download Center. If you have difficulty getting the video to start from PowerPoint it is also included on the Master Nutrition CD or can be downloaded from
We are going to watch a short video which shows ways to use the food label quickly and easily to achieve a healthier diet and meet nutritional needs. After we watch the video, we will discuss each section of the label in more detail to get a better understanding of what we can learn from reading labels.

4. Overview of the Label Serving Sizes Calories and Calories from Fat
Nutrients with % Daily Value
Footnote (Only found on larger packages)
The information in the main or top section of the food label can vary with each food product since it contains product-specific information including: serving size, calories and nutrient information. On larger packages, the bottom part of the label contains a footnote with Daily Values (DVs) for 2,000 and 2,500 calorie diets. The footnote provides recommended dietary information for important nutrients such as fats, sodium and fiber. This footnote is found only on larger packages and does not change from product to product.

5. The Serving Size Stated in Household and Metric Measures
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 and will be provided in familiar units such as cups or pieces, followed by the metric amount (number of grams). A gram is a small unit of weight that weighs about the same as a small paper clip. (Pass around small paper clip for participants to feel the weight.) A milligram is much smaller. There are 1000 milligrams in one gram. There are about 28 grams in one ounce. One ounce weighs about the same as a stack of 5 quarters. (Pass around stack of 5 quarters for participants to feel the weight.)
Serving sizes on food labels represent what people usually eat, not what is considered a serving on USDA’s MyPyramid. Keep this in mind when trying to follow MyPyramid’s recommendations for a healthy diet.
The size of the serving on the food package influences the number of calories and all of the nutrient amounts listed on the top part of the label. Look at the serving size and then ask yourself, “How many servings am I consuming?” Did you eat ½ serving, 1 serving or 2 or more servings? In this sample label, one serving equals one cup. If you ate the whole package, you would eat 2 cups since there are 2 servings in the package. That would double the calories and other nutrient numbers including the % Daily Values.

6. Calories
Labels include the total calories as well as the calories from fat
General Guide to Calories:
40 calories is low
100 calories is moderate
400 calories or more is high
Calories provide a measure of how much energy you get from a serving of the food. The calorie section of the label can help you manage your weight. Remember though that the number of servings you consume determines the number of calories you actually eat. In this example, there are 250 calories in one serving of the food with 110 of those calories coming from fat. This means that almost half the calories in a single serving come from fat.
There is a General Guide to Calories based on a 2,000 calorie diet that provides a general reference for calories when you look at a Nutrition Facts Label. It is as follows:
40 calories is low
100 calories is moderate and
400 calories or more is high.

7. The Nutrients Limit These Nutrients Get Enough of These
The top of the nutrient section shows you some key nutrients that impact your health and separates them into two main groups:
The Nutrients listed first are the ones Americans generally eat in adequate amounts or even too much. On this slide, they are identified in yellow, and we should 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. 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.
Most Americans don’t get enough dietary fiber, vitamin A, vitamin C, calcium and iron in their diets. These nutrients are identified in blue on this slide, and we should strive to get enough of these nutrients. Eating enough of these important 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 which results in brittle bones.
You can use the Nutrition Facts label to help limit those nutrients you want to cut back on and to increase the nutrients you need to consume in greater amounts.

8. The Footnote Based on 2,000 and 2,500 calorie diets
Only found on larger packages
An asterisk appears on the Nutrition Facts label after the heading % Daily Value. This refers to the footnote in the lower part of the label, which tells you that % Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. This statement must be on all food labels. However, the remaining information in the full footnote as shown above 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 since it shows recommended dietary advice for all Americans and is not about a specific food.
(Show examples of Nutrition Facts labels from products with the footnote included and those without the footnote.)
The amounts circled in red in the footnote are the Daily Values (not % Daily Values) for each nutrient listed and are based on public health experts’ advice. Daily Values are recommended levels of intake based on a 2,000 or 2,500 calorie diet. If you follow this dietary advice, you will stay within public health experts’ recommended intake for the nutrients listed based on a 2,000 or 2,500 calorie diet. Remember that the food label and DV is based on 2,000 or 2,500 calorie diet so, of course, the amounts would adjust if you ate fewer or more calories. 

9. DVs Compared to %DVs Nutrient DV %DV Goal Total Fat 65g 100% DV
Less Than
Sat. Fat
20g
Cholesterol
300mg
Sodium
2400mg
Total CHO
300g
At Least
Dietary Fiber
25g
This information is based on a 2,000 calorie diet. (NOTE: DV = Daily Value; Sat. Fat = Saturated Fat; CHO = Carbohydrate)
Let’s look at this chart to see how the Daily Values relate to the % Daily Values and dietary guidance. For each nutrient listed, there is a DV, the %DV and dietary advice or the goal.
The nutrients that we need to consume in moderation are listed first on the footnote found on larger food packages. It is recommended that you eat less than the Daily Value nutrient amounts listed per day. For example, the DV for saturated fat is 20g. This amount reflects 100% of the Daily Value for this nutrient. The goal is to eat less than 20 g or less than 100%DV for the day.
The DV for dietary fiber is 25g, which is 100%DV. This means you should eat at least this amount of dietary fiber per day.

10. Percent Daily Value (%DV)
Based on Daily Value recommendations
Only for a 2,000 calorie diet
The % Daily Values illustrate how a food’s nutrients fit into a 2,000 calorie diet and help consumers compare nutrient content among food products. A few nutrients, like trans fat, do not have a %DV so we will talk about them later.
The %DV column doesn’t add up vertically to 100%. Instead each nutrient is based on 100% of the daily requirements for that nutrient based on a 2,000 calorie diet. This way you can tell if a product is high or low in certain nutrients. The 5 and 20 Rule is an easy way to determine if the content of a nutrient is high or low. 5%DV or less is low for all nutrients. 20%DV or more is high for all nutrients.
The %DV 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 (gram, milligram or ounces) of each product. It is easy to see which foods are higher or lower in nutrients because the serving sizes are generally consistent for similar types of foods except in a few cases.
There are many claims found on the packages of food products: sugar free, no added sugar, reduced sugar, calorie free, low calories, reduced calories, fat free, low fat, reduced fat and many more. You can also use the %DV to help you quickly distinguish one claim from another such as reduced fat vs. light or nonfat. All you have to do is compare the % DVs for Total Fat in each food product to see which one is higher or lower in that nutrient. This keeps you from having to memorize the definitions for all of the claims.
Notice that some of nutrients have a %DV listed, but no weight shown. One example is calcium. In this label, the product contains 2%DV for calcium. This shows how much one serving contributes to the total amount you need per day. The %DV for calcium is based on 1,000 mg, so 10% would be 100 mg. You can use this as a reference if you are trying to consume 1,200 mg of calcium per day.

11. Nutrients Without a %DV
Trans Fats
Protein
Sugars
Trans fat, sugars and protein do not list a %DV on the Nutrition Facts label.
Experts could not provide a reference value for trans fat to establish a Daily Value or % Daily Value. Scientific reports link trans fat and saturated fat with raising blood LDL or “bad” cholesterol levels. This increases your risk of coronary heart disease. 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. It is recommended to consume no more than 2g daily of trans fats. Keep in mind that food manufacturers can put 0g trans fats on the food label when the product has .5g of trans fats per serving.
A % Daily Value 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. According to current scientific evidence, protein intake is not a public health concern for adults and children over 4 years of age.
No daily reference value has been established for sugars because no recommendations have been made for the total amount to eat in a day. 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.
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.

12. Ingredient Statement List of ingredients found in the food product
Listed in descending order by weight, from the most to the least
The ingredient list helps consumers identify foods that have substances they are allergic to or want to avoid for other reasons. For example, sugar for those who are watching their sugar intake or partially hydrogenated oils for those wanting to limit trans fats. It can also help consumers select foods with ingredients they want, such as whole grains.
An ingredient list is required on all packaged foods composed of 2 or more ingredients. Ingredients must be listed in descending order of predominance by weight. Therefore, the first ingredient listed would be the one contained in the product in the greatest amount. This gives consumers an idea of the proportion of an ingredient in a food. If sugar was listed as the first ingredient, you would know that the product contained a great deal of sugar.

13. Eat Smart – Read the Label
Be informed.
Determine the best choices.
Eat a variety of foods.
Consumers need to be informed. The Nutrition Facts label is a great tool to help you stay informed about the food products you purchase and consume. You can read food labels to determine the best choices for your family. Read the label and select a variety of healthy foods so that you are receiving all the nutrients needed for a healthy you!

14. References
U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition -
Keeping Up with the Changing Food Label: International Food Information Council (IFIC) –
Presentation Developed By:
Cathy Agan, Extension Agent (FNP)
Ouachita Parish