Understanding Food Labels and Terms

Using the information on food labels can help you choose healthier foods which might lower your risk of getting cancer. But nutritional labels can be confusing. Knowing more about the terms and numbers used on labels can help you make the best choices for you.

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) requires food to be labeled a certain way. The FDA specifies what information must be included and defines the terms used.  

What’s on a food label

Some of the information required by the FDA is found on the Nutrition Facts part of a food label. This includes:

1. Serving Size  

The serving size is a measured amount of the food, based on how much a typical person would eat. Some packaged food, like a frozen dinner, might contain only one serving. Others, like a box of whole-wheat crackers, might contain many servings.

Serving sizes may be presented in cups or pieces, as well as the number of grams.. The listed serving size is the amount of the food that was tested for calories and nutrients, which is the information on the label.  

You can compare a serving size to how much of a food you usually eat. Find out more about portion size.

2. Amount of Calories

Calories measure how much energy you get from a serving of a food or drink. You can use the calorie count on a food label to see how it compares to the number of total calories you will eat in a day. While food labels are calculated using a daily calorie count of 2,000 calories, your daily amount may vary. Find out more about your calorie needs.  

3. Nutrients

This section lists the amount of different nutrients contained in a food or drink. This list includes fats, sodium, carbohydrates, and protein. More details about these or other nutrients, such as vitamins or minerals, may be listed.

4. Percent Daily Value

The percent daily value compares the amount of the listed nutrients in a food or drink to the recommended daily value (RDV). The RDV is the suggested amount of a nutrient that an average person should try to get each day. The percentage indicates how much of the RDV that 1 serving of the food or drink contains. Depending on your specific needs, you might want to get more or less of a nutrient.

5. Footnote

The footnote explains that the Percent Daily Value (DV) is based on diet of 2,000 calories a day. Your calorie needs may be different.

Other terms you might see on a food label

The FDA also regulates other terms that can be used on food or drink packages.

Free

How you might see it on a label: fat-free, sugar-free, calorie-free

What it means: This term means that a product does not have any of the named nutrient or has so little that it’s unlikely to make any difference to your body. For example, “calorie-free” means less than 5 calories per serving. “Sugar-free” means less than 0.5 grams of sugar per serving. Fat-free means less than 0.5 gram of fat per serving.

These nutrients can be described using the term “free”:

• Fat
• Saturated fat
• Cholesterol
• Sodium
• Sugars
• Calories

Other terms that may be used: Without, no, zero and skim (for fat-free milk)

Note that this only refers to nutrients in food. The word “free” may be used differently for things people may be allergic to or intolerant of, such as lactose and gluten.

Low

How you might see it on a label: low-fat, low-sodium, low-cholesterol, low-calorie

What it means:  This term means that the food has a lower amount of a nutrient than the regular version of a food or that it contains only a small amount of the nutrient.

The nutrients that can be described with this label are:

• Fat
• Saturated fat
• Cholesterol
• Sodium (salt)
• Calories

Here are some specific definitions:

• Low-fat: 3 grams of fat or less per serving or no more than 30% of calories from fat for a meal or main dish
• Low-saturated fat: 1 gram of saturated fat or less per serving, or no more than 10% of calories from saturated fat for a meal or main dish
• Low-sodium: 140 milligrams of sodium or less per serving, meal or main dish
• Very low sodium: 35 milligrams of sodium or less per serving, meal or main dish
• Low-cholesterol: 20 milligrams of cholesterol or less per serving, meal or main dish
• Low-calorie: 40 calories or less per serving or 120 calories or less for a meal or main dish

Other terms that may be used: Little, few, low source of, and contains a small amount of

Lean and extra lean

How you might see it on a label: lean beef, extra-lean beef

What it means: These terms can be used to describe how much fat is in meat, seafood, and game meats.

• Lean: less than 10 grams of total fat, 4.5 grams or less of saturated fat, and less than 95 milligrams of cholesterol per serving and per 100 grams (about 3 3/4 ounces by weight per meal or main dish)
• Extra lean: less than 5 grams of fat, less than 2 grams of saturated fat, and less than 95 milligrams of cholesterol per serving and per 100 grams for meal or main dish

High

How you might see it on a label: high-calcium, high-fiber

What it means: This term can be used if the food contains 20% or more of the Daily Value of a certain nutrient per serving. Look for this term if you’re trying to get more of a certain nutrient.

Other terms that may be used: Rich in, and excellent source of

Good source

How you might see it on a label: good source of fiber

What it means: This term means that 1 serving of a food contains 10% to 19% of the Daily Value for a certain nutrient.

Other terms that may be used: Provides or contains

Fortified or enriched

How you might see it on a label: Enriched flour, fortified breakfast cereal. The list of ingredients will include what has been added, such as vitamins and minerals.

What it means: This term means that 1 serving of a food contains 10% or more of the Daily Value for a certain nutrient. It’s most often used for fiber, vitamins, and minerals.

Other terms that may be used: More, added, extra, or plus

Reduced or Less

How you might see it on a label: reduced or less fat, reduced or fewer calories, reduced or less sodium, 25% less fat than

What it means: This term means that a food, whether altered or not, contains 25% less of a nutrient or calories than another food. It could be the “regular” version of the same food, or a different food. For example, pretzels that have 25% less fat than potato chips could carry a “less” claim on their label.

Other terms that may be used: Fewer, lower

Light or lite

How you might see it on a label: Light or lite. For example, light cream cheese or light mayonnaise

What it means: This term can mean fewer calories, lower fat or reduced sodium. Light foods have been altered to reduce the calories or fat compared to the regular versions.

• For foods that get at least half of their calories from fat, the total fat amount must be reduced by at least 50%.  For example, if the regular version contains 12 grams of fat, the “lite” version can contain no more than 6 grams of fat.
• The term “light” can also be used when the sodium (salt) content of a food has been reduced by at least 50%. “Lightly salted” means there’s half as much sodium than is normally added to the food. The sodium content in the lightly salted version may not be low enough to qualify as “low sodium”.

Not all uses of the word “light” will refer to calories, fat, or sodium. The term “light” still can be used to describe such properties as texture and color, as long as the label explains the intent. For example, packages might include phrases like “light brown sugar” or “light and fluffy”.