Nutrition Labels

"Understanding the significance of dietary guidelines and how to use DRIs in planning your nutrient intakes can make you better equipped to select the right foods the next time you go to the supermarket. In the United States, the Nutrition Labeling and Education Act passed in 1990 and came into effect in 1994. In Canada, mandatory labeling came into effect in 2005. As a result, all packaged foods sold in the United States and Canada must have nutrition labels that accurately reflect the contents of the food products. There are several mandated nutrients and some optional ones that manufacturers or packagers include. In May, 2016 a new Nutrition Facts label for packaged foods was announced. This label reflects new scientific information and will make it easier for consumers to make informed food choices. Some of the changes made to the label include: increased type size for “Calories,” “servings per container,” and “Serving size”; bolded type for the number of calories and the “Serving size”; actual amounts of vitamin D, calcium, iron, and potassium, in addition to the Daily Value amounts, are required to be listed; vitamins A and C are now voluntary; an improved footnote better explains the Daily Value; “Added sugars” in grams and percent Daily Value are required to be listed due to scientific data on the impact of added sugars on caloric intake; “Total Fat,” “Saturated Fat,” “Trans Fat,” “Cholesterol,” and “Total Carbohydrates” are still required on the label; “Calories from fat” has been removed because the type of fat is important; values for sodium, dietary fiber, and vitamin D were updated based on newer scientific research; serving sizes were updated to reflect how much consumers are more likely to eat today; some packages with serving sizes between one and two are required to be labelled as one serving since most consumers will likely eat them in one sitting; and dual columns for certain products that are larger than a single serving but could be consumed in one sitting indicate “per serving” and “per package” amounts. The compliance date for manufacturers to adopt the new label is July 26, 2018. Manufacturers with less than $10 million in annual food sales will have until 2019."