Daily Values

"The first part of the Nutrition Facts panel gives you information on the serving size and how many servings are in the container. For example, a label on a box of crackers might tell you that twenty crackers equals one serving and that the whole box contains 10 servings. All other values listed thereafter, from the calories to the dietary fiber, are based on this one serving. On the panel, the serving size is followed by the number of calories and then a list of selected nutrients. You will also see “Percent Daily Value” on the far right-hand side. This helps you determine if the food is a good source of a particular nutrient or not. The Daily Value (DV) represents the recommended amount of a given nutrient based on the RDI of that nutrient in a 2,000-kilocalorie diet. The percentage of Daily Value (percent DV) represents the proportion of the total daily recommended amount that you will get from one serving of the food. For example, in the older food label in Figure 12.2, the percent DV of calcium for one serving of macaroni-and-cheese is 20 percent, which means that one serving provides 20 percent of the daily recommended calcium intake. Since the DV for calcium is 1,000 milligrams, the food producer determined the percent DV for calcium by taking the calcium content in milligrams in each serving, dividing it by 1,000 milligrams, and multiplying it by 100 to get it into percentage format. Whether you consume 2,000 calories per day or not, you can still use the percent DV as a target reference. Generally, a percent DV of 5 is considered low and a percent DV of 20 is considered high. As a general rule, for fat, saturated fat, trans fat, cholesterol, or sodium, look for foods with a low percent DV. Alternatively, when concentrating on essential mineral or vitamin intake, look for a high percent DV. To figure out your fat allowance remaining for the day after consuming one serving of macaroni-and-cheese, look at the percent DV for fat, which is 18 percent, and subtract it from 100 percent. To know this amount in grams of fat, read the footnote of the food label to find that the recommended maximum amount of fat grams to consume per day for a 2,000-kilocalorie-per-day diet is 65 grams. Eighteen percent of sixty-five equals about 12 grams. This means that 53 grams of fat are remaining in your fat allowance. Remember, to have a healthy diet the recommendation is to eat less than this amount of fat grams per day, especially if you want to lose weight. For adults and children four or more years of age, the Daily Values based on a caloric intake of 2,000 calories include: total fat, 65 grams; saturated fat, 20 grams; cholesterol, 300 milligrams; sodium, 2,400 milligrams; potassium, 3,500 milligrams; total carbohydrate, 300 grams; dietary fiber, 25 grams; protein, 50 grams; vitamin A, 5,000 International Units; vitamin C, 60 milligrams; calcium, 1,000 milligrams; iron, 18 milligrams; vitamin D, 400 International Units; vitamin E, 30 International Units; vitamin K, 80 micrograms; thiamin, 1.5 milligrams; riboflavin, 1.7 milligrams; niacin, 20 milligrams; vitamin B6, 2 milligrams; folate, 400 micrograms; vitamin B12, 6 micrograms; biotin, 300 micrograms; pantothenic acid, 10 milligrams; phosphorus, 1,000 milligrams; iodine, 150 micrograms; magnesium, 400 milligrams; zinc, 15 milligrams; selenium, 70 micrograms; copper, 2 milligrams; manganese, 2 milligrams; chromium, 120 micrograms; molybdenum, 75 micrograms; and chloride, 3,400 milligrams. Of course, this is a lot of information to put on a label and some products are too small to accommodate it all. In the case of small packages, such as small containers of yogurt, candy, or fruit bars, permission has been granted to use an abbreviated version of the Nutrition Facts panel."