Disclaimer: The following contains information related to food serving sizes and calories, which may be activating for those who have experienced disordered eating behaviors or eating disorders. It should be noted that the information on nutrition facts labels may not be reflective of a standard diet for everyone. If you believe that you might benefit from support surrounding food decisions, please refer to a registered dietitian or health care professional for information tailored to your lifestyle.
What is a nutrition facts label?
A nutrition facts label is a tool that helps consumers to understand what’s in the food they’re eating. These labels are found on any manufactured food product—produce won’t have labels—and are usually on the back or side of the package.
What’s on a nutrition facts label?
From top to bottom, a nutrition facts label includes information about the serving size, the number of servings per container, calories, nutrients, and ingredient list.
It’s important to keep in mind that all the information on the nutrition facts label is based on pre-determined values for daily calorie intake and serving sizes that might not be relevant to everyone.
Serving Size
The serving size is not a recommendation for how much of a particular food you should eat. It’s meant to serve as a reference point to show how much of a food is typically eaten. The amount of food you choose to eat (or, the portion size) does not need to be based on the serving size.
Whether you pay attention to the serving size or not is a personal choice. Common reasons why some might take note of it include comparing similar foods or knowing how much of a nutrient is consumed based on how much of a food is eaten. When looking at other parts of the nutrition label, it will be important to consider the serving size and your portion size, given that the calories and other nutrient values on the label are based on the serving size. For example, eating two servings means you must multiply each nutrient value by two to know the total amount being consumed.
Calories
Calories tell you how much energy you can get from eating a particular food. How many calories you need to consume per day depends on factors like your age, sex assigned at birth, height, weight, and level of physical activity.
Nutrients
The types of nutrients listed on a nutrition facts label include fats, cholesterol, sodium, carbohydrates (including dietary fiber and sugars), protein, and other vitamins and minerals. To learn more about nutrients, consider checking out the Nutrition 101 fact sheet.
Daily Values
The daily value is represented as a percentage—it shows how much of a nutrient in a serving constitutes the total daily recommended amount of that nutrient. It’s important to know that these values correspond to a 2,000 calorie-a-day diet and are only accurate if that’s how much you eat in a day. Therefore, these are considered other reference points that you may or may not choose to use. For example, if you’re eating fewer than 2,000 calories per day and eat one serving, your daily value percentage will be higher than what you see on the label. Additionally, some nutrients, like trans fat, protein, and total sugars, don’t tend to have a percent daily value because either a daily value for that nutrient hasn’t been determined, or the percent daily value is only required in certain situations.
Generally speaking, a daily value of five percent or lower is a low contribution to your daily nutrient intake, and a daily value of twenty percent or higher corresponds to a high contribution.
How do you interpret the ingredient list?
For any food with a nutrition label, all of its ingredients are required to be listed. Ingredients are listed according to their presence in the food product—the ingredients listed first are present in greater amounts than the ingredients that come later in the list.
There are different types of ingredients encompassing broad categories like:
- Preservatives
- Sweeteners
- Color additives
- Flavors and spices
- Flavor enhancers
- Fat replacers
- Nutrients
- Emulsifiers
- Stabilizers, thickeners, binders, texturizers
Knowing examples of these types of ingredients can be useful when trying to decode what’s really on ingredient lists.
How do you know if something is allergen-friendly or fits into your dietary preferences or concerns?
There are nine major foods that cause allergies. These common allergens include:
- Milk
- Eggs
- Fish
- Crustacean shellfish
- Tree nuts
- Peanuts
- Wheat
- Soybeans
- Sesame
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) requires that these major food allergens must appear in some shape or form on the nutrition facts label. There are two ways that allergens are noted on food labels. The allergen can be listed in parenthesis after the ingredient that contains it is listed, such as “flour (wheat)”. Otherwise, there might be a “contains” statement, which will list the major allergens present. Additionally, you might see statements that start with phrases like “might contain” or “made in a facility that also processes [allergen]”. These disclosures are not required but help alert customers to potential cross-contamination.
There might also be some icons on the package that indicate whether the food product is free from allergens or conforms with dietary preferences. For example, there are different symbols you might see that designate certified gluten free, kosher, and halal options. Official symbols, like those below (though what’s represented isn’t exhaustive), mean that the product has gone through regulation to determine its status.
You might find it helpful to speak with a registered dietitian to learn more about reading food labels. Additionally, if you’re a college student, it may be helpful to review your school’s dining websites for information about how to understand the nutritional value of food options available to you at your institution.