Food Labeling (Print Version)

Also called: Also called: Nutrition labeling

With all the different products grocery stores offer, it can be hard to make the best food choices. Food labels can make the task a little easier. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration requires packaged foods to carry labels.

On every food label you will see

Serving size, number of servings and number of calories per serving
Information on the amount of dietary fat, cholesterol, dietary fiber, dietary sodium, carbohydrates, dietary proteins, vitamins and minerals in each serving
Definitions for terms such as low-fat and high-fiber
Information to help you see how a food fits into an overall daily diet

Food and Drug Administration

Start Here

How to Understand and Use the Nutrition Facts Label(Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition) - http://www.cfsan.fda.gov/~dms/foodlab.html
Also available in Spanish http://www.cfsan.fda.gov/~dms/sfoodlab.html
Reading Food Labels(National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute) - http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/chd/Tipsheets/reading-labels-tips.htm
Test Your Food Label Knowledge!(Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition) - Requires Flash Player - http://www.cfsan.fda.gov/~dms/flquiz1.html

Overviews

Deciphering Food Labels(Nemours Foundation) - http://kidshealth.org/parent/nutrition_fit/nutrition/food_labels.html
Food Label Helps Consumers Make Healthier Choices(Food and Drug Administration) - http://www.fda.gov/consumer/updates/foodlabels032708.html
Food Labeling(Dept. of Agriculture, Food Safety and Inspection Service) - http://www.fsis.usda.gov/Fact_Sheets/Food_Labeling_Fact_Sheets/

Latest News

FDA Mulls Changes to Allergy Labeling on Foods(09/16/2008, HealthDay) - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/news/fullstory_69345.html

Specific Conditions

Food Allergies: Food Labels List Top Eight Allergens(Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research) - http://www.mayoclinic.com/print/food-allergies/AA00057/METHOD=print
Organic and Other Environmentally Friendly Foods(Nemours Foundation) - http://kidshealth.org/teen/food_fitness/nutrition/organics.html
Trans Fat Now Listed with Saturated Fat and Cholesterol on the Nutrition Facts Label(Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition) - http://www.cfsan.fda.gov/~dms/transfat.html
Also available in Spanish http://www.cfsan.fda.gov/~dms/stransfa.html

Related Issues

Nutrient Content Claims and Percent (%) Daily Value(American Diabetes Association) - http://www.diabetes.org/nutrition-and-recipes/nutrition/foodlabel/nutrient-content-claims.jsp
Nutrition Facts Label(Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition) - Links to PDF - http://www.cfsan.fda.gov/~acrobat/nutfacts.pdf

Health Check Tools

Test Your Food Label Knowledge!(Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition) - Requires Flash Player - http://www.cfsan.fda.gov/~dms/flquiz1.html
Using the Food Label Activity(National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute) - http://nhlbisupport.com/chd1/FoodLabel/foodlabel.htm

Tutorials

Make Your Calories Count: Use the Nutrition Facts Label for Healthy Weight Management(Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition) - Requires Flash Player - http://www.cfsan.fda.gov/~ear/hwm/labelman.html

Journal Articles

References and abstracts from MEDLINE/PubMed (National Library of Medicine)

Article: Food labeling: health claims; soluble fiber from certain foods and... - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=AbstractPlus&list_uids=18956498&tool=MedlinePlus
Article: How accurate are your nutrient calculations? Why culinary expertise makes... - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=AbstractPlus&list_uids=18755308&tool=MedlinePlus
Article: Using the label to improve your table. - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=AbstractPlus&list_uids=18686319&tool=MedlinePlus
Food Labeling -- see more articles - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?cmd=search&db=pubmed&term=food+labeling[majr]+AND+english[la]+NOT+(letter[pt]+OR+editorial[pt])&doptcmdl=summary&cmd_current=Limits&pmfilter_EDatLimit=last+1+Year&tool=MedlinePlus

Organizations

Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition - http://vm.cfsan.fda.gov/
Food and Drug Administration - http://www.fda.gov/
Food and Nutrition Information Center - http://fnic.nal.usda.gov/

Newsletters/Print Publications

Dietary Supplements/Food Labeling Electronic Newsletter(Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition) - http://www.cfsan.fda.gov/~dms/fda-dsfl.html

Law and Policy

Claims That Can Be Made for Conventional Foods and Dietary Supplements(Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition) - http://www.cfsan.fda.gov/~dms/hclaims.html
FDA's Standards for High Quality Foods(Food and Drug Administration) - http://www.fda.gov/consumer/updates/foodstandards061807.html
Organic Labeling and Marketing Information(Dept. of Agriculture) - Links to PDF - http://www.ams.usda.gov/AMSv1.0/getfile?dDocName=STELDEV3004446&acct=nopgeninfo
Also available in Spanish http://www.ams.usda.gov/AMSv1.0/getfile?dDocName=STELDEV3004450

Children

Figuring Out Food Labels(Nemours Foundation) - http://kidshealth.org/kid/stay_healthy/food/labels.html
Food Labels Tell the Story!(National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences) - http://kids.niehs.nih.gov/baylor/food3.htm

Teenagers

The Deal with Food Labels(National Women's Health Information Center) - http://www.girlshealth.gov/nutrition/foodlabels/index.cfm
What Do Food Labels Really Say?(Nemours Foundation) - http://kidshealth.org/teen/food_fitness/nutrition/food_labels.html

You may also be interested in these MedlinePlus related pages:

Child Nutrition - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/childnutrition.html
Food Safety - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/foodsafety.html
Nutrition - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/nutrition.html
Food and Nutrition - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/foodandnutrition.html