Before the 1990’s, it was the wild west for food labeling. No regulations were established or required by manufacturers for listing nutrition information on food packaging or standards to follow.
A law was passed that requires all food companies to use nutrition labels; the labels stayed the same for a while until 2016, when the FDA announced a new updated version to help people like us navigate these labels easier and to make overall better choices.
Now that we got some of the history out of the way, let’s dive into what the new labels are all about. We are also going to go over better ways to read the labels and how to maximize your nutrition choices.
The new labels are designed to be easier to read and understand. They also reflected updated serving sizes for a large amount of food products and choices. The old labels are still circulating out on the markets, but in 2020 the deadline arrives for the majority of food manufacturers to switch to the new labels.
The most updated draft guidelines is still in the works as of March 24, 2023. The FDA is extending the question-and-answer period as of right now for the Dietary guidelines about the statements in food labeling. For a deep dive on this visit: https://www.fda.gov/food/cfsan-constituent-updates/fda-issues-draft-guidance-dietary-guidance-statements-food-labels
What’s new besides making it easier for us?
Now the new labels include both total sugar & added sugar instead of the label just listing “sugars”. The distinction allows for consumers to identify if the food has a large amount of sugar added in and which products contain natural occurring sugars.
If you are unfamiliar with the difference between these two; let us review.
Added sugars are those that have been added to the food in the form of sucrose “ table sugar” , corn syrup, high-fructose corn syrup, maltodextrin, or other forms of sugars. Dairy and fruit contain natural occurring sugars in the form of lactose & fructose; these are naturally present and are not considered an added sugar.
Products that are considered to have the most common occurrences of added sugars are; breads, pasta sauces, salsa, flavored yogurts, and salad dressings. This is to make them more palpable and more attractive to the consumer.
For the new labels, they have also updated serving sizes as well as made the calories bigger and in a bold font. This is to help people to see and understand what they are purchasing and help them with their nutrition decision.
Calories from fat are no longer on the label, as well as Vitamin A and C. They have replaced these with potassium and Vitamin D instead. The reason behind this is because the majority of
Americans are lacking in these micronutrients.
If the food has been fortified with any nutrients, or if the food product makes claims on any of these, the company is required by the FDA to list these on the nutrition labels. Both the amount in milligrams, micrograms for Vitamin D per serving, and the percent daily value ( we will cover what this is later).
Other nutrition facts that you will see on the nutrition label are:
- The number of servings per container
- Serving size
- Total calories per serving
- Amount of total fat per serving ( in grams), saturated fat (in grams) , and trans fats ( in grams)
- Cholesterol ( in milligrams)
- Sodium (in milligrams)
- Total carbohydrates ( in grams)
- Dietary Fiber ( in grams)
- Total sugar and added sugars ( in grams)
- Protein ( in grams)
- Amounts and Percent Daily Value for: Vitamin D , Calcium ( in milligrams), iron (milligrams) and potassium ( in milligrams)
When reviewing the label the two things y
ou should look at first are serving per container & serving size. The nutrition facts on the label are for specific serving size of the product , NOT the entire container, unless displayed otherwise.
The serving size is based on the amount of food that a person typically is thought to eat during one sitting, this is NOT a recommendation or suggested serving size of the product at hand. If you would like to know more about this check out Reference Amounts Customarily Consumed (RACCs) , this can be found on FDA website. These are intended to serve as reference amounts for food manufacturers to list on the nutrition labels.
Under the guidelines of nutrition labeling, food products that have more than one, but less than or equal to three servings must also list the nutritional information on the entire container.
The updated requirements are allowing for the fact that if someone decided to eat the entire container, with 3 servings or lessmay be consumed one sitting. One product that has one to three servings, a dual-column label may be displayed to help you navigate these servings better.
Percent Daily Value
For serving sizes on nutrition labels is only for information purposes based on the Percent Daily Value for the listed nutrients. The Percent Daily Value is how much one serving of food contributes towards the recommended daily value based on the consumption of 2000 calories a day. If a person’s caloric goal is lower than 2000 calories, one serving of the food provides a greater percentage of the PCV.
When looking at personal portion sizes, this is based on what YOU choose to consume. This may be more or less that the serving size on the nutrition label. Other factors need to be considered when thinking of portion sizes as well. What is your goal? What are your calorie needs or activity level and how many meals and what types of meals are being consumed on a given day ( breakfast, lunch, dinner, and having a snack).
The best way to figure out what is going to be a good source of nutrition choices when navigating these labels is using the Percent Daily Value. This allows you to find out if the food you are eating is a good source of nutrients that you need based on your diet.
The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics recommends that people should be shooting for 5% or less of total fat, saturated fat, cholesterol, and sodium per food & for fiber, vitamins and minerals 20% . The only nutrients that do not have a set nutritional panel on these labels are trans fats, total sugar, and protein as the FDA has not defined recommended daily amounts for these.
Current diet guidelines suggest to limit your trans fats as much as possible, that is why there are no recommended amounts. There are also no recommended amounts for total sugar either, but the added sugar recommendations is only consuming no more than 10% of your daily calories.
Most people in America are not at risk of being low in protein intake, there is not a recommended Percent Daily Value for this either. Unless you are going to give protein to infants or children under the age of 4 years old. The only thing manufacturers can place on the label if it does have a significant amount of protein in their product is “ good source of protein”.
5 & 20 RULE
A great tip that I can give you on reading these nutritional labels is if you look at the Percent Daily Value and if the product is 5% or less means that the product is low in that particular nutrient on the label. If the value is 20% or more means that it is high in that nutrient.
5 & 20 Game
Grab some food in your home and look at the nutritional fact label for products that you usually use. Review the Percent Daily Value on each and review the macro ( protein, carbohydrates, fats, sugar alcohol) & micronutrients (vitamins & minerals). See which ones are within the 5% or 20% and make a list for each!
Now that we have a general idea on how to navigate these labels; I want you to review a few questions to help you make the best nutrition choices when shopping.
Questions to ask yourself when reading labels to make the best decision:
- Are the total calories per serving excessively high? How many servings would a person/ or myself typically eat? Does this amount support my nutrition and dietary goals overall ?
- Is this product high or low in carbohydrates based on the serving recommendations and would a person or myself typically eat this amount?
- How many grams of fiber are in a serving and is this product high or low in fiber? ( If you are unsure about fiber recommendations take a look at my blog page for a full post on this)
- How many grams of sugar and added sugar are in the product? Is this high or low in sugar and does this go along with my nutrition goals?
- How much protein is in one serving of the product? Would this product optimize my protein requirements and recommendations?
- Do the total fat support my nutritional goals and what types of fats are listed? Do these seem high or low?
Remember when asking these questions refer back to the 5/20% Rule to make the best judgment.
I hope this blog gave you a better idea on how to navigate the grocery store and your own kitchen. With updated information just for you from the USDA, FDA, & NASM Nutrition this will help you find the right information and get rid of any confusion.
If you enjoyed this blog, subscribe to my website for more tips and tricks on how to better support your health and wellness.
Thank You for Reading!
BeYou Fitness
Owner & Coach Christine Cutice
References Cited:
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U. S. Food and Drug Administration (2018). Changes to the Nutrition Facts Label. Retrieved from https://www.fda.gov/Food/GuidanceRegulation/GuidanceDocumentsRegulatoryInformation/ LabelingNutrition/ucm385663.htm#highlights
U. S. Food and Drug Administration (2018). The New and Improved Nutrition Facts Label – Key Changes. Retrieved from https://www.fda.gov/downloads/food/labelingnutrition/ucm511646.pdf
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For any and all most up to date information please visit www.FDA.gov