The U.S. Food and Drug Administration requires the Nutrition Facts label to be placed on most prepared foods offered for sale. This label provides helpful information for consumers to use in planning food choices and comparing products. It's important to know how to find and use the information that's available on the label if you want to compare similar food items. The Nutrition Facts label looks the same on all packages so that consumers can find the information they need to compare food items.
Step 1
Find the serving size information at the top of the Nutrition Facts label. This lets you know what is considered one serving for that particular food item. All other information on the label tells you how much of a particular nutrient is contained in just one serving, not the entire package.
Step 2
Food items can be compared by the number of servings contained in the package, which is listed directly below the serving size. For example, a snack-size bag of potato chips might actually contain two servings. If you ate the whole package of chips, you would take in twice the amount of calories and nutrients that are listed on the label.
Step 3
Once you've determined the amount in one serving, you can compare the number of calories contained in a serving, which is also listed on the Nutrition Facts label. This line also tells how many of the total calories come from fat, which is a helpful comparison to make when trying to choose low-fat options.
Step 4
Nutrition Facts labels list nutrients that most Americans generally need to limit, such as fats, cholesterol and sodium. The fats listing is broken down further into the types of fat. If you are trying to cut back on saturated and trans fats, you may want to compare foods by both the amount and the type of fats.
Step 5
The amount of total carbohydrates is listed, with the values for sugars and fiber listed beneath. You can use this to determine how much of that total carbohydrate amount comes from fiber, and how much from sugars. A percent daily value for fiber is also given, which provides a clue as to whether the food would be considered a low- or high-fiber food.
Step 6
The daily values listed on the label are an average recommended intake for a person on a 2,000-calorie-per-day diet. The percent daily value is based on the recommended intake for a whole day. A person could compare labels to see which food will give her more of the recommended daily amount of, say, calcium. Generally, 5 percent or less is considered a low amount of a nutrient, and 20 percent or more is considered a high amount of a nutrient.
Tips and Warnings
- Using nutrition labels is a skill that sometimes takes a little practice. It may help to plan extra time for grocery shopping so you don't feel rushed while trying to make comparisons.
- If your doctor has recommended a special diet that involves limiting or increasing certain nutrients, the daily value recommendations may be different for you, and you will need to follow your doctor's instructions. A registered dietitian can also provide information about special diets and the nutritional requirements for specific health conditions.
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