The Nutrition Facts panel of a food label may be the most important section of the entire label for helping consumers make healthful eating choices. It tells them how much of the food is customarily eaten, what nutrients it provides and how it fits into their overall daily diet. The panel can be identified on food labels as a box with the header "Nutrition Facts." The U.S. Food and Drug Administration regulates aspects of food labels and allows for slight variations in shapes and sizes of Nutrition Facts panels depending on the food and packaging type, but they all aim to provide the same useful information.
Serving Information
Near the top of the Nutrition Facts panel is information about servings. It generally provides the size of a serving in both U.S. and metric units, as well as the number of servings per container. Serving sizes are standardized by predetermined Reference Amounts Customarily Consumed (RACC). If a food does not have an established RACC, then a serving size can be based on a reasonable amount that would be commonly consumed.
Calories
Total calories and calories from fat are listed next to each other in Nutrition Facts panels. This makes it easy to identify high-calorie foods as well as ones that have a high percentage of calories coming from fat.
Nutrients
The Nutrition Facts panel supplies the amounts of total fat, saturated fat, cholesterol, sodium, total carbohydrates with a breakdown of sugars and dietary fiber, and protein. The amounts of vitamins A and C, calcium and iron are also indicated. In some instances, additional nutrient information may be optional or required. The nutrient amounts listed are per serving.
Daily Values
To the right of the listed amounts of nutrients is usually a percentage. This percentage is given based on the Daily Values established for many nutrients by the U.S Food and Drug Administration. Daily Values represent the needs of a typical person with a 2,000-calorie-per-day diet. The percentages are meant to help consumers compare the nutrients in food items, as well as see how healthful a food is at a glance. Most foods use the established Daily Values for people four years and older, but some foods may also list them for infants, children less than four years, and women who are pregnant or lactating.
Additional Information
A footnote at the bottom of a Nutrition Facts panel states that, "Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet." Additional information that may be present when labels have enough space such as the Daily Value amounts for some nutrients based on 2,000- and 2,500-calorie diets.
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