You can become a smart shopper by reading food labels to find out more about the foods you eat.  Labels are the best sources of consumer information as it gives identity to the food, the amount in the package, the manufacturer, and provides a list of ingredients and additional information about the nutritional value of the contents.  Nutrition information on labels helps you choose foods in your overall diet to meet recommendations of MyPyramid and the Dietary Guidelines for Americans.  

 

What’s on the Label?

 Nutrient amounts:  Due to an increased risk for heart disease, high blood pressure, and cancer, your goal should be no more than 100% of your Daily Value for the day for fat, trans fat, saturated fat, and sodium.  To maintain good health and to help reduce your risk of certain health problems, the goal for fiber, vitamin A, vitamin C, calcium and iron is to consume a variety of foods that add up to at least 100 percent per day. 

Fat, saturated fat, cholesterol, total carbohydrates, fiber, sugars, protein, vitamin A and C, calcium and iron are required on the label.  Also, listing trans fat directly under the saturated fat (at least .5 grams per serving) became effective January 1, 2006.  Other nutrients may be listed voluntarily. 

Serving size:  This lists both the serving size (the amount for one serving) and the number of servings in the package.  Remember to check your portion size to the serving size on the label.  If the label serving size is one cup and you ate two, you consumed twice the amount of calories and other nutrients listed on the label. 

Calories:  On the label you will find the number of calories for a single serving and how many calories come from fat. 

% Daily Values:  Food labels also show the amount of certain nutrients per serving along with the “% Daily Value (DV)”.  The daily value is based on a 2,000 calorie diet and is the percentage of each nutrient to meet the needs of the average person each day.  For example, if a certain food provides 50 percent of the DV for Vitamin A, one serving gives a person half the Vitamin A needed per day. 

Daily Values footnote:  This reference chart shows the maximum amounts recommended for total fat, saturated fat, cholesterol, and sodium-- and the target amounts for total carbohydrates and fiber for 2,000 calories and 2,500 calories Daily Values. 

Calories-per-gram conversion:  You may see the number of calories in one gram of fat, carbohydrate, and protein.  Fat contains more than twice the calories per gram (9 calories) than carbohydrates and protein (4 calories).

Ingredient list: Ingredient list lists the ingredients in a food item from most to least.  In other words, the first ingredient is the one that makes up the greatest part of the product.  The last ingredient on the list represents the smallest part of the product, and the others represent amounts in between.

By regulation, any food made with more than one ingredient must carry an ingredient list on the label.  Effective January 2006, manufacturers are required to clearly state if food products contain any ingredients that contain protein derived from the eight major allergenic foods.  The foods are milk, eggs, fish, crustacean shellfish, tree nuts, peanuts, wheat and soybeans. 

Health claim:  Health claims are strictly regulated by the Food and Drug Administration.  Only health claims supported by scientific evidence are allowed on food labels.  The following are the most common claims seen on food packages and what they mean:

 

·         Low calorie- less than 40 calories per serving. 

·         Low cholesterol- less than 20 mg of cholesterol and 2 grams or less of saturated fat per serving. 

·         Reduced- 25% less of the specified nutrient or calories than the usual product. 

·         Good source of- Provides at least 10% of the Daily Value of a particular vitamin or nutrient per serving.  

·         Calorie free- Less than 5 calories per serving.    

·         Fat free or sugar free- Less than half gram of fat or sugar per serving.

·         Low sodium- Less than 140 mg of sodium per serving.

·         High in- Provides 20% or more of the Daily Value of a specified nutrient per serving. 

·         High fiber- 5 or more grams of fiber per serving. 

·         Lean (meat, poultry, seafood) - 10 grams of fat or less, 4 ½ grams of saturated fat, and less than 95 mg cholesterol per 3 ounce serving. 

·         Light- 1/3 fewer calories or 1/2 the fat of the usual food.

·         Healthy- Decreased fat, saturated fat, sodium, and cholesterol and at least 10% of the Daily Value of vitamins A, C, iron, protein, calcium, and fiber. 

 

In conclusion, reading food labels and comparing the nutrition of similar foods can yield tremendous health benefits. Reading labels can be useful for the following:

1)  to find out which foods are good sources of vitamin A, vitamin C, fiber, calcium, and iron

2) to  search for foods that are lower in fat, saturated fat, trans fats, sodium, and calories and

3) to compare similar foods to find the highest nutritional value at a reasonable cost.