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In 1990, the Nutrition Labeling and Education Act went into
effect. The USDA and the FDA designed the requirements so that
consumers would have useful information about the food they
eat. But how do you make sense of a food label?
According to the Nutrition Labeling and Education Act, all
food labels must contain the following information:
- Common name of the product
- Name and address of the product’s manufacturer
- Net contents in terms of weight, measure or count,
and:
Ingredient List – Lists the ingredients
in descending order of predominance and weight. In Krispy Krunchies,
the ingredients are listed at the bottom of the label. As you
can see, the predominant ingredient is corn,  next
is oil, then cheese, etc.
Serving Sizes – Each package must identify
the size of a serving. In Krispy Krunchies, one package contains
one serving. The nutritional information given on the label
is based on one serving of the food.
Nutrition Facts – each package must identify
the quantities of specified nutrients and food constituents
for one serving. From this information, you can gleam
some very useful information. The most important thing to remember
is this:
- 1 gr. fat = 9 calories
- 1 gr. protein = 4 calories
- 1 gr. carbohydrate = 4 calories
- 1 gr. alcohol = 7 calories
Therefore, we can tell the percentages of each nutrient in
Krispie Krunchies:
|
Grams |
Calculation |
Total
Calories |
%
of Total |
Calories |
|
|
80 |
100 |
Fat |
4 |
4 * 9 |
36 |
45 |
Protein |
1 |
1 * 4 |
4 |
4 |
Carbohydrate |
10 |
10 * 4 |
40 |
50 |
![[pie chart]](images/piechart.gif)
Graphically, the components look like this pie chart.
Note that this food is not a very healthy choice because
of its high fat content. |
 Additionally,
we can tell that of the 10 grams of total carbohydrate,
1 gram (10%) comes from simple sugars, rather than from
complex carbohydrates.
|
 Furthermore,
we can tell that of the 4 total grams of
fat, 0.5 grams
(or 11%) is
saturated fat --
the fat we would like to
avoid.
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The "*% Daily Values" section provides an estimate
of the percentage of total nutrients that one serving
of Krispy Krunchies provides. For example, if you were consuming
2000 calories per day, one serving of Krispie Krunchies would
provide 6% of the recommended day’s allotment of fat (4
grams out of a total 65 grams allotted), and 3% of the recommended
day's allotment of carbohydrate (10 grams out of a total 300
grams allotted).
The "Calories From Fat" is also instructive for a
quick estimate of a product’s fat content. We can see that
one serving of Krispie Krunchies contains a total of 80 calories
–35 of the calories are from fat. That means that 35 calories
out of a total of 80 calories, or approximately 45% of Krispie
Krunchies’ calories, come from fat. If you looked at the
ingredient list, you could tell that oil is listed as the 2nd
ingredient, which confirms that fat is a very large component
of this food product.
The FDA also provides guidelines about the claims and descriptions
manufacturers may use in food labeling to promote their products:
Claim |
Requirements that must be met before using
the claim in food labeling |
Fat-Free |
Less than 0.5 grams of fat
per serving, with no added fat or oil |
Low fat |
3 grams or less of fat per
serving |
Less fat |
25% or less fat than the comparison
food |
Saturated Fat Free |
Less than 0.5 grams of saturated
fat and 0.5 grams of trans-fatty acids per serving |
Cholesterol-Free |
Less than 2 mg cholesterol
per serving, and 2 grams or less saturated fat per serving |
Low Cholesterol |
20 mg or less cholesterol
per serving and 2 grams or less saturated fat per serving |
Reduced Calorie |
At least 25% fewer calories
per serving than the comparison food |
Low Calorie |
40 calories or less per serving |
Extra Lean |
Less than 5 grams of fat,
2 grams of saturated fat, and 95 mg of cholesterol per
(100 gram) serving of meat, poultry or seafood |
Lean |
Less than 10 grams of fat,
4.5 g of saturated fat, and 95 mg of cholesterol per (100
gram) serving of meat, poultry or seafood |
Light (fat) |
50% or less of the fat than
in the comparison food (ex: 50% less fat than our regular
cheese) |
Light (calories) |
1/3 fewer calories than the
comparison food |
High-Fiber |
5 grams or more fiber per
serving |
Sugar-Free |
Less than 0.5 grams of sugar
per serving |
Sodium-Free or Salt-Free |
Less than 5 mg of sodium per
serving |
Low Sodium |
140 mg or less per serving |
Very Low Sodium |
35 mg or less per serving |
Healthy |
A food low in fat, saturated
fat, cholesterol and sodium, and contains at least 10%
of the Daily Values for vitamin A, vitamin C, iron, calcium,
protein or fiber. |
"High", "Rich
in" or "Excellent Source" |
20% or more of the Daily Value
for a given nutrient per serving |
"Less", "Fewer"
or
"Reduced" |
At least 25% less of a given
nutrient or calories than the comparison food |
"Low", "Little",
"Few", or "Low Source of" |
An amount that would allow
frequent consumption of the food without exceeding the
Daily Value for the nutrient – but can only make
the claim as it applies to all similar foods |
"Good Source Of",
"More", or "Added" |
The food provides 10% more
of the Daily Value for a given nutrient than the comparison
food |
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