Nutrition Facts: A guide to food labels

Use this guide to the Nutrition Facts label to help understand what you're eating so that you can make healthier choices.

By Mayo Clinic Staff

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The Nutrition Facts label is required by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on most packaged foods and beverages. The Nutrition Facts label provides detailed information about a food's nutrient content, such as the amount of fat, sugar, sodium and fiber it has.

In 2016 the FDA announced changes to the label aimed at helping consumers make more informed choices. Food manufacturers are expected to adopt the changes by 2021. Many have already made the switch. The changes include:

  • Making calories and servings per container more prominent by using larger print.
  • Adding "added sugars" as a category under "total sugars."
  • Removing "calories from fat" because research shows the type of fat is more important than the amount.
  • Updating which nutrients must be listed. Vitamin D and potassium will be added; vitamins A and C will no longer be required but can be included on a voluntary basis.
  • Updating serving sizes to better match how much people actually eat. Serving sizes are not meant to tell people how much to eat.
  • Listing calories and nutrients for a single serving as well as the whole package for foods that are typically consumed in one sitting.

Knowing how to read food labels is especially important if you have health conditions, such as high blood pressure or high cholesterol, and need to follow a special diet. It also makes it easier to compare similar foods to see which is healthier.

The more practice you get reading food labels, the better you can become in using them as a tool to plan your healthy, balanced diet.

To help you decode the new label, each section is explained in the example.

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July 20, 2019 See more In-depth

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