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This article was published in FDA Consumer in July-August 1994. It is no longer being updated and may contain information that is out of date. For current information on this topic, see FDA's Food Labeling and Nutrition section of this Web site. |
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by Paula Kurtzweil
This is the first in a series of articles telling how to use the new food label to meet specific dietary needs.
Sibyl Weiss of Van Nuys, Calif., is an avid food label reader--and for good reason.
Twenty-two years ago, the 59-year-old former nurse was obese; she carried more than 300 pounds on her 5-foot 5-inch frame. Today, she weighs in at under 150 pounds, a weight she says she's maintained for more than 20 years.
She credits her success to her participation in a self-help weight-control organization that uses group therapy, competition and recognition to help members lose and maintain their weight. As part of this program, Weiss says, she came to understand the importance of the food label in monitoring food intake.
"For so many years I didn't care what I poured into my body," she says. "Now I do."
Weiss has learned that label information can play an important role in weight management. That role is expected to take on even greater importance as the new food label makes its official debut this year.
In the past, diet-conscious consumers like Weiss couldn't always count on the food label to give complete nutrition information. The information was required only when a food contained added nutrients or when nutrition claims appeared on the label. In all other cases, the nutrition information was voluntary. When it did appear, it was often hard to find and hard to read.
That's changing, though, as a result of the Nutrition Labeling and Education Act of 1990 and regulations from the Food and Drug Administration and the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Those regulations call for extensive food labeling changes designed to help ensure that there are a lot more success stories like Weiss'.
First, nutrition information in bigger, more readable type is now required for almost all packaged foods. The information also will be near many fresh ones, like fruits and vegetables. On packaged foods, it will usually appear on the side or back of the package under the heading "Nutrition Facts."
Second, the required nutrition information is more useful than before. A new column of information, the "% (percent) Daily Value," tells consumers at a glance how the food fits into a healthy diet.
Third, the information is more complete. The label now must include information about saturated fat, cholesterol, fiber, sugars, calories from fat, and other dietary components that are important to today's consumers. (See Nutrition Facts' to Help Consumers Eat Smart in the FDA Consumer Special Report "Focus on Food Labeling.")
Fourth, serving sizes now more closely reflect the amount people actually eat.
Also, "light," "low-fat," "calorie-free," and other such claims must meet strict government definitions so when dieters see them, they can believe them. (See A Little 'Lite' Reading in the FDA Consumer Special Report "Focus on Food Labeling.")
"There's no doubt about it. There's going to be a lot of nutrition information on the label," says Camille Brewer, a registered dietitian and nutritionist in FDA's Office of Food Labeling. "And some of it is going to be particularly helpful to people trying to control their weight."
To see how the new label can help you stick to your diet, see Dieters' Label Checklist (119KB PDF file).
Contrary to popular belief, fat--not calorie--content is the most important information for dieters on the food label, Brewer says. The reason: Fat is the densest source of calories, with 9 calories per gram, while carbohydrate and protein each provide 4 calories per gram. (Alcohol, while not a nutrient, provides 7 calories per gram.) By limiting fat alone, consumers will likely lower their calories, as well, and thus their weight, Brewer said.
"In the past, dieters were told to focus entirely on calories, but the new trend really is for them to monitor and reduce grams of fat," Brewer says.
Calories can't be totally discounted. Brewer points out they serve as the basis for determining a person's recommended daily fat intake. Like the general population, dieters are usually advised to limit fat consumption to no more than 30 percent of their total day's calories. (Some health experts restrict it even more--to 20 percent or less, according to Brewer.) The 30 percent limit follows the Dietary Guidelines for Americans.
For example, most people who eat 2,000 calories a day should strive to limit their calories from fat to no more than 600 (2,000 x 0.30 = 600) or no more than 65 grams (g) fat (600 calories divided by 9 calories per gram fat = 67, rounded to 65).
The 2,000-calorie level happens to be the basis on which %Daily Values on the label are calculated. (For more information, see 'Daily Values' Encourage Healthy Diet in the FDA Consumer Special Report "Focus on Food Labeling.") FDA and USDA chose 2,000 calories because, according to Ed Scarbrough, Ph.D., director of FDA's Office of Food Labeling, it is a "user-friendly" number that allows consumers to easily adjust Daily Value numbers to their own diet and calorie intakes.
The calorie level also provides more appropriate dietary reference numbers for one of the groups most often targeted for weight control--older women--he says.
Brewer acknowledges that not everyone needs 2,000 calories a day, especially people trying to lose weight. They often need to eat fewer calories to lose weight. But whatever their calorie intake, dieters still can use the %Daily Values to get a general idea of how high or low a food is in the major nutrients.
She advises people interested in losing weight to see a doctor, dietitian or nutritionist first. These professionals, she says, can help individuals determine appropriate calories and fat levels that will allow them to lose weight and still receive adequate nutrition.
Looking at the Nutrition Facts labels of the two products below--chocolate ice cream (left) and chocolate yogurt (right)--shows how easy it is for dieters to compare the fat content of similar products. Serving sizes for similar products must now be about the same.
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In addition to fat, Brewer suggests that dieters also check the label for a food's fiber content. Fiber can be an important aid in weight maintenance, she says, because eating enough of it can help make a person feel full and thus not eat as much.
FDA and USDA's reference amounts are set at 11.5 g fiber per 1,000 calories; thus, the Daily Value for fiber is 25 g. This Daily Value is based partly on the National Cancer Institute's recommendation that Americans eat 20 g to 30 g fiber a day. For most people, dieters included, a fiber intake of at least 25 g a day--100 percent of the Daily Value--is desirable.
If you find yourself constantly eating more than 100 percent of the Daily Value for fat each day, consider these low-fat and nonfat alternatives. For labeled items, check the %Daily Value for fat; try to select those foods that provide 5 percent or less per serving.
| Instead of: | Eat: |
|---|---|
| fried foods | baked, broiled, steamed, microwaved, or roasted meat, fish, poultry, and vegetables |
| oils, salad dressings, sour cream, mayonnaise | reduced-calorie salad dressings and sour cream, low-fat or nonfat plain yogurt, mustard |
| whole milk | nonfat dry milk, skim or 1% milk |
| butter, margarine | jam jelly, preserves, low-calorie apple butter as a spread |
| cake, pie, cookies, pastries | angel food cake, baked apple, fruit crisp, oatmeal cookies, ginger snaps,fresh or juice-pack fruit |
| snack crackers, chips | crisp breads, matzo, pretzels, rice cakes, melba toast, air-popped or microwaved popcorn |
Dieters should begin their search for fat, fiber and calorie information on the front of the food package. This is where food manufacturers often place statements about the nutritional benefits of their products. Some of these, like "fat-free," "low-calorie" and "high-fiber," will be of particular interest to weight-watchers. (See "Dieters' Guide to Label Nutrient Claims.")
Brewer advises caution, however, when choosing foods that are labeled "fat-free" and "low-fat." Some of these foods, like "low-fat" cakes and cookies, still may be high in calories because of added sugars. So dieters should always check the Nutrition Facts panel to get complete information, she says.
The column headed "%Daily Value" is the place to start under "Nutrition Facts." The numbers in this column can quickly tell if a food is high or low in the nutrients listed. For dieters, the %Daily Values for fat and fiber will be especially important to look at. If the %Daily Values are 5 or less, the food is considered low in that nutrient. So, the goal for dieters should be to select, as much as possible, foods that have a %Daily Value for fat of 5 or less and for fiber, 5 or more.
The overall goal should be to select foods that together add up to about 100% of the Daily Value for each nutrient.
"Dieters may occasionally select a higher fat item, such as a slice of pound cake that provides about 15 percent of the Daily Value for fat," FDA's Brewer says, "but they should monitor the other foods they eat that day and try not to go over 100 percent of the Daily Value for fat."
The idea, she says, is to give dieters some flexibility in making food choices, while enabling them to restrict their total daily fat intake and increase their total daily fiber intake.
Serving size information is important, too. It tells the amount of the food that will give the calories and nutrient levels listed. It is stated in both common household and metric measures.
Under the new regulations, serving sizes better approximate the actual amounts most people eat, although they are not necessarily the amounts recommended by various health groups. So, instead of being misleading, serving sizes offer a more useful measure for assessing a food's nutrient composition.
Also, the serving size must be about the same for like products--for example, different brands of potato chips--and for similar products within a category of foods--for example, potato chips, pretzels, and corn chips within the category of snack foods. This makes it easy to compare the nutritional qualities of related foods.
Here's an example: Ice cream and frozen yogurt are considered similar foods, so they have the same serving size--one half cup. A half cup of many brands of chocolate ice cream provides 7 g fat--11 percent of the Daily Value for fat. The same amount of frozen chocolate yogurt may yield 4 g fat, or 6 percent of the Daily Value for fat. If a person's goal is to reduce fat intake, the frozen yogurt would be the product to buy.
In addition to %Daily Values, information about a food's fat content is presented in two other ways on the Nutrition Facts panel--as calories from fat and as grams of fat.
"Calories from Fat" is listed below serving size information immediately following "total calories." Grams of fat are stated to the right of "Total Fat," which tops the list of nutrients. The grams of fat offers consumers the option of monitoring the number of grams of fat eaten. Both "calories from fat" and grams of fat can help consumers limit their fat intake to no more than 30 percent of their total day's calorie intake.
Here's how to use "calories from fat": At the end of the day, add up total calories and calories from fat eaten. Divide calories from fat by total calories. The answer gives the percentage of calories from fat eaten that day. For example, 450 calories from fat divided by 1,800 calories = 0.25 (25 percent), an amount within the recommended level of not more than 30 percent.
Consumers should refer to the %Daily Values for the other nutrients, as well, to determine how nutritious a food is overall. Whether the %Daily Values are for other nutrients most people should limit (for example, cholesterol and sodium) or eat more of (for example, total carbohydrate, vitamin A, and calcium), they can tell at a glance how the food compares nutritionally to others. With all this information, the new food label affords weight-conscious consumers an easier time of selecting a wide variety of foods that meets their dietary needs. That, in turn, can help them achieve and maintain their ideal weight.
Sibyl Weiss greets the changes enthusiastically: "There'll be a lot more information," she says. "I think that's great."
Paula Kurtzweil is a member of FDA's public affairs staff.
Fat-free: less than 0.5 grams (g) fat per serving
Low-fat: 3 g or less per serving and, if the serving size is 30 g or less or 2 tablespoons or less, per 50 g of the food
Reduced or less fat: at least 25 percent less per serving than reference food
The following claims can be used to describe the fat content of meat, poultry, seafood, and game meats.
Lean: less than 10 g fat, 4.5 g or less saturated fat, and less than 95 milligrams cholesterol per serving and per 100 g
Extra lean: less than 5 g fat, less than 2 g saturated fat, and less than 95 mg cholesterol per serving and per 100 g
Calorie-free: fewer than 5 calories per serving
Low-calorie: 40 or fewer calories per serving and, if the serving size is 30 g or less or 2 tablespoons or less, per 50 g of the food
Reduced or fewer calories: at least 25 percent fewer calories per serving than the reference food
("Light in sodium" means the food has 50 percent or less sodium than the reference food.)
Foods making claims about increased fiber content also must meet the definition for "low-fat" or the amount of total fat per serving must appear next to the claim.
High-fiber: 5 g or more per serving
Good source of fiber: 2.5 g to 4.9 g per serving
More or added fiber: at least 2.5 g more per serving than the reference food
Sugar-free: less than 0.5 g per serving
No added sugar, without added sugar, no sugar added:
("Sugar-free" and "No added sugar" signal a reduction in calories from sugars only, not from fat, protein and other carbohydrates. If the total calories are not reduced, a statement will appear next to the "sugar-free" claim explaining that the food is "not low calorie" or "not for weight control." If the total calories are reduced, the claim must be accompanied by a "low-calorie" or "reduced-calorie" claim.)
Reduced sugar: at least 25 percent less sugar than the reference food
Consumers should check the Nutrition Facts to learn more about the food's calorie, fat, and other nutrient content.
--P.K.
Look for claims like "fat-free," "low-fat" and "high-fiber," usually on the front of the package. If present, the claims will signal that the food contains desirable levels of fat and fiber--two nutrients of concern to dieters.
Check the "Nutrition Facts," usually on the side or back of the package. It will give more complete nutrition information about the food.
Look at the column called "%Daily Value. It tells you if a food is high or low in fat, fiber, and other nutrients of interest to dieters. Try to select as many "low-fat" foods (that is, 5 percent or less of the Daily Value for fat) as possible.
Look at the serving size. It is about the same for similar items. So it's easy to compare the nutritional qualities of similar foods.