The New Nutrition Facts Label: What Changed and How to Read It
The FDA is rolling out a new and improved Nutrition Facts label, and all foods should be updated with the new label by July 2019. Here are a few of the changes we think are most helpful, and how you can use them to meet your own nutrition goals.
Serving Size: the serving typically consumed in one sitting, and how many of those servings are in the package.
- Change: updated to reflect a more realistic picture of how much people typically eat. Also, bigger, bolder text. Read more about the serving size “reality check”.
- Tip: compare your portion size to the serving size listed on the package to figure out how much you are actually eating/drinking.
Total Calories
- Change: calories will be listed in bigger, bolder writing to show you how many are in one serving.
Added Sugars: sugar that is added to the product during processing.
- Change: added sugars will be listed underneath total sugars
- Tip: avoid too much. The 2015-2020 Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommends consuming no more than 10 percent of daily calories from added sugars.
Vitamin D and Potassium
- Change: Vitamin D and potassium will be listed in milligrams and % Daily Values.
- Tip: For those with kidney disease, this label will help identify potassium in food/drinks.
- Tip: For those without kidney disease, the label can help you get more Vitamin D and potassium- nutrients the CDC says Americans don’t always get enough of.
Ingredient list: ingredients included in the product, listed by weight in order from most to least.
- Change: None- we just think this one is really important!
- Tip: Verify that the ingredients in the food are in alignment with the goals you have for your health and well-being.
- Tip: If you have food intolerances, sensitivities, restrictions, or preferences, this is where you can detect if the food is right for you.
Visit the FDA’s website to read more about the changes, what they mean, and the science behind them.