1. Understanding a Nutrition Facts Label

2. In this presentation you will learn how to read and understand a nutrition facts label. This slide shows an example of the nutrition facts label for a box of macaroni and cheese. The US Food and Drug Administration dictates that food labeling is required for most prepared foods, such as breads, cereals, canned and frozen foods, snacks, desserts, drinks, etc. However, nutrition labeling for raw produce, such as fruits and vegetables, and fish is voluntary. Dietary supplements and vitamins have separate labeling requirements and will not carry a nutrition facts label that looks like the one you see here.
US Food and Drug Admin

3. Sections of a Food Label
1. Serving Size – at the top
Green color
2. Calories- below serving size
White color at the top
3. and 4. Nutrients
Yellow and Blue color
5. Footnote
White color at the bottom
6. % Daily Value
On the far right
Purple color
Nutrition facts labels will all have the same format with several sections as those outlined here. Next we will discuss the different sections of a food label, but you should know that each nutrition facts label has specific information about the food product on which is it labeled. You can think of a food label as having six sections: serving size, calories, two sections for nutrients, a footnote and the percent daily value. On the next slide you will see the food label with each of these sections. The serving size is at the top of the label and is in a green color; calories are shown just below the serving size at the top of the label and in our example will be in a white color; both sections of the nutrients are below the calories and in our example are highlighted in yellow and blue; the footnote is located at the bottom of the food label in white and the percent daily values are given on the far right of the column and highlighted in purple on our example. You should note that food labels on products are only displayed in black and white with no colors.

4. Here you can see the six sections pointed out on the previous slide
Here you can see the six sections pointed out on the previous slide. Serving size at the top in green, calories just below the serving size in white, two sections for nutrients in yellow and blue, a footnote in white at the bottom and the percent daily value on the right hand side highlighted in purple.
US Food and Drug Admin

5. Serving Size How much is the serving size? Servings per container
Standard
Compare similar foods
Familiar units
Cups, pieces, tablespoons
How much actually consumed
Servings per container
Multiply if consuming more than one serving
Total amount of calories and nutrients
Next we will walk through each of the six sections. First, when reading any food label you should start by noticing the serving size given. There are two different parts in this section: the serving size and then the number of servings per container. The serving sizes are usually listed in standard measurements such as cups, pieces, tablespoons, etc. The serving size allows you to compare similar food products to each other. After noticing the serving size, you should also look to see how many serving sizes are within the container. This information is listed just below the serving size. If you consume the whole package of food, you will have to multiply the number of servings per container by all the information listed on the box.

6. Using this macaroni and cheese food label as an example, the serving size is 1 cup. Below this, it reads “servings per container 2.” This means if you were to eat the whole box of macaroni and cheese you would eat a total of 2 cups of macaroni and cheese. Also, if you eat the whole box, you would then need to multiply the rest of the numbers on the food label by 2 as well to figure your total calories consumed and the total nutrients consumed.
US Food and Drug Admin

7. Calories Calories per Serving Calories from Fat Generally
Amount of energy in each serving
Must multiply calories per serving by number of servings consumed
Calories from Fat
Compare calories from fat to number of calories in each serving
Calculate %
Generally
40 is low
100 is moderate
400 is high
Moving on, the next section of a food label is calories. Calories also have two pieces of information listed on the food label. Calories per serving tell you the amount of energy in each serving. Located just to the right of “calories per serving,” a food label will list “calories from fat.” Both of these are important. In order to figure the total amount of calories you consume you must multiply the calories per serving by the number of servings consumed. Calories from fat, tells the consumer how many of the total calories consumed are coming from fat. This information will allow you to compare the calories from fat to the number of calories in each serving. This number can be calculated by dividing the number of calories from fat by the number of calories per serving.

8. As you can see here, listed just below the serving size is the information about calories. On the left it shows the calories per serving are 250 and on the right it shows “calories from fat 110.” This means, there are 110 calories per serving coming from fat as compared to the total amount of calories per serving is To calculate the percentage of calories from fat you can divide 110 by 250 which equals 44 percent. So, if you eat one serving of macaroni and cheese, you would consume a total of 250 calories, 110 of them from fat which means 44% of your calories consumed are from fat. If you eat the whole box of macaroni and cheese you would consume a total of 500 calories (250 multiplied by 2 servings) and 220 calories would be from fat.
US Food and Drug Admin

9. Nutrients Total Fat Cholesterol Sodium Adequate or too much
Limit These
Be Sure to Get Enough of These
Total Fat
Saturated
Trans
Cholesterol
Sodium
Adequate or too much
Can increase risk of chronic diseases
Dietary Fiber
Vitamin A
Vitamin C
Calcium
Iron
Usually don’t get enough
Can reduce risk of some diseases or conditions
Next, we will talk about the two sections highlighting the information about nutrients on the food label. In general, you can think of the nutrients section in two different parts. The first part (highlighted in yellow on the next slide) are the group of nutrients that you should limit. These nutrients are total fat, which includes saturated fat and trans fat, cholesterol and sodium. In the US, most people consume adequate amounts or too much of these nutrients and they are also linked to an increased risk of chronic diseases. Such chronic diseases are heart disease, high blood pressure and some cancers.
The other group of nutrients, which are highlighted in blue, on the next slide are ones that you should be sure to get enough of. They are dietary fiber, Vitamin A, Vitamin C, Calcium and Iron. Opposite to the first group, this group of nutrients are ones that Americans tend to not get enough of, so you should aim to consume adequate amounts. These nutrients can reduce risks of some diseases or conditions. Examples are a lack of calcium can lead to osteoporosis and adequate fiber is linked to healthy bowel function.
Now let’s take a look at these nutrients on the food label.

10. Shown here is yellow, total fat, saturated fat, trans fat, cholesterol and sodium are listed with the amounts of each nutrient listed as well. Again, you should aim to consume limited amounts of this group of nutrients. The macaroni and cheese example has fairly large amounts of the nutrients in this section.
Highlighted in blue are the nutrients that you should aim to consume adequate amounts of. These are dietary fiber, Vitamin A, Vitamin C, Calcium and Iron. This example of macaroni and cheese is not a good source of dietary fiber as you can see there are 0 grams of fiber in this product. Understanding how to know if you are eating too much or too little of the nutrients mentioned is easier once you understand the percent daily value. We will discuss the percent daily values just after the footnote section.
US Food and Drug Admin

11. Footnote
The “*” symbol after the heading “%Daily Value” refers to the footnote
“%DVs are based on a 2,000 calorie diet”
Must appear on all food labels
Footnotes are the same on all products
The * used after the heading "%Daily Value" on the Nutrition Facts label refers to the Footnote in the lower part of the nutrition label, which tells you "%DVs are based on a 2,000 calorie diet". It is regulated that this statement must be on all food labels. However, 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 specific to any one food product. Let’s take a closer look…

12. Focus at the bottom of the food label where you see the word “footnote
Focus at the bottom of the food label where you see the word “footnote.” The footnote is shown as a table for a daily calorie intake of 2,000 or 2,500. Look at the amounts listed in grams (g) or milligrams (mg) in the footnote for total fat, saturated fat, cholesterol, sodium, total carbohydrate and dietary fiber --these are the Daily Values (DV) for each nutrient listed and are based on public health experts' advice. The daily values are recommended levels of intakes. Note how the daily values for some nutrients change, while others (for cholesterol and sodium) remain the same for both calorie amounts. Again, this table will contain the exact same information no matter what food product nutrition label you are reading.
US Food and Drug Admin

13. Percent Daily Value %DV
On right hand side of every food label
Based on 2,000 calorie diet
Great way to compare food products to each other
5% or less is low
20% or more is high
The % Daily Values (%DVs) are listed on the right hand side of every food label and are based on recommendations for key nutrients but only for a 2,000 calorie daily diet--not 2,500 calories. Even though you may not know how many calories you consume in a day, you can still use the %DV as a frame of reference whether or not you consume more or less than 2,000 calories.
The main purpose of showing the %DV is that it helps you determine if a serving of food is high or low in a nutrient. So this allows a quick and easy way to compare one food product to another food product. You do not need to know how to calculate percentages to use the %DV because the food label does the math for you. The %DV column doesn't add up vertically to 100%. Instead each nutrient is based on 100% of the daily requirements for that nutrient, so you can tell high from low and know which nutrients contribute a lot, or a little, to your daily recommended allowance.
Let’s look at our example one more time…

14. Again, focus on the right hand side of the food label, highlighted here in purple. The % Daily Value heading is at the top of the column and just below are the percentages of the nutrients. You can see that for one serving of macaroni and cheese, you would consume 18% of your total daily allotment for what is recommended within a 2,000 calorie diet for total fat. Similarly, one serving of macaroni and cheese will yield 15% of your daily limit of saturated fat. Another nutrient to notice here is sodium. With just one serving of this food, you would have 20% of your daily limit for sodium. As mentioned in the previous slide, 20% or more is high, so this food product has a “high” amount of sodium. Even though this product has a lot of sodium, a nutrient you should limit, it also has 20% daily value of calcium. This means that one serving of macaroni and cheese has a high amount of calcium, which is a nutrient to make sure you consume enough of.
One of the best uses for the %DV is that it allows a quick way to compare one food product to another. If you were in the grocery store and wanted to find out if this particular brand of macaroni and cheese is a healthier choice than the next brand on the shelf, you could easily compare the %DVs for each of the nutrients and get a quick idea. For instance, if the other brand has a DV of 16% for total fat, 14% for saturated fat and 17% for sodium, it would likely be that the other brand is a healthier choice than the brand shown on this slide. Since the %DVs are all based on the same common denominator, a 2,000 calorie diet, you can compare one food product to another by comparing the %DVs listed on the food label.
US Food and Drug Admin

15. Summary 6 sections to a food label Start at the top and work down
Serving size, calories,
nutrients to limit,
nutrients to get enough of,
footnote and %DV
Start at the top
and work down
Use %DV to quickly
compare one food product
to another
This presentation has explained how to read a food label and hopefully has made understanding these food labels a bit easier. Food labels contain a wealth of information if you know what to look for, how to understand it and then apply it to making healthy food choices. The US Food and Drug Administration dictates that food labeling is required for most prepared foods, such as breads, cereals, canned and frozen foods, snacks, desserts, drinks, etc. However, nutrition labeling for raw produce, such as fruits and vegetables, and fish is voluntary. Reading a nutrition facts label or food label can be easily broken down into six sections: serving size, calories, nutrients to limit, nutrients to get enough of, footnote, and %DV. It’s best to start at the top of a food label and then work your way down noticing all the sections we’ve discussed. Remember, the % daily value offers a quick and easy way to compare one food product to another so that you can select the product that is the most healthy choice.