The U.S. Food and Drug and Administration issues nutrition guidelines to help Americans make wise choices when it comes to the types and amounts of nutrients to get in their daily diets. The FDA also requires food manufacturers to print nutritional information and daily recommendations clearly on packages to help consumers make healthy food purchasing decisions.
History
The U.S. government officially established the FDA in 1988, as an agency under the Department of Health and Human Services. The Nutrition Labeling Act of 1990 gave the FDA authority to require food manufacturers to label their products sold in grocery and convenience stores with essential information regarding ingredients, nutritional value and recommended servings sizes. In 2010, health care reform legislation passed by Congress and signed by President Barack Obama made it a new requirement for restaurants and vending machine operators to begin providing calorie information for all items.
Daily Value Recommendations
The FDA issues recommendations for how much of certain nutrients the average person on a 2,000-calorie diet should be getting each day. According to the FDA, Americans should limit fat to 65 g per day, saturated fat to 20 g per day, cholesterol to 300 mg per day, and sodium to 2,400 mg per day. The FDA also recommends all adults get at least 300 g of carbohydrates every day, 25 g of which should come from dietary fiber sources.
Nutrition Label Guide
Based on these recommendations, the nutrition label allows you as a consumer to make smart choices when it comes to the foods that you purchase every day at the grocery store. Listed on the nutrition label is the recommended serving size and how many servings the package contains. The number of calories per serving is also listed, allowing you to account for the number of calories you eat on a daily basis. Other essential nutrients such as fat, saturated fat, cholesterol, sodium, carbohydrates and protein also show up on the food label, including what percentage of the daily recommendation that food accounts for.
Benefits
Regularly following the FDA's guidelines for nutrition can help you keep a balanced diet and keep accurate count of the number of calories you're eating every day. If you're trying to follow a low-carb diet or eat more lean protein, looking at the food label helps you make these decisions without having to go searching for that information.
Considerations
Serving size is one of the most important factor when considering the FDA's nutrition recommendations. Paying close attention to and accounting for the serving size listed on the nutrition label will help you avoid overeating and consuming more calories than you had planned for that meal or the day as a whole. What seems like a normal serving size to you may actually be double or triple the recommended serving size listed on the package, meaning you're getting more than the recommended amount of nutritional value as prescribed by the FDA.
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