Interactive Nutrition Facts Label
Interactive Nutrition Facts Label
% Daily Value
% Daily Value (%DV) shows how much a nutrient in a serving of the food contributes to a total daily diet.
The %DV column doesn't add up vertically to 100%. Instead, the %DV is the percentage of the Daily Value for each nutrient in a serving of the food. The Daily Values are reference amounts (in grams, milligrams, or micrograms) of nutrients to consume or not to exceed each day.
- For example, the Daily Value for saturated fat is less than 20 grams (g) per day (based on a 2,000 calorie daily diet), which equals 100% DV. If the Nutrition Facts label says one serving of a food contains 1.5 g of saturated fat, then the %DV for saturated fat for this specific food is 8%. That means the food contains 8% of the maximum amount of saturated fat that an average person should eat in an entire day.
Some nutrients on the Nutrition Facts label do not have a %DV, so use the number of grams to compare and choose products.
Compare Foods: Use %DV to compare food products (remember to make sure the serving size is the same) and to choose products that are higher in nutrients you want to get more of and lower in nutrients you want to get less of.
As a general guide:
- 5% DV or less of a nutrient per serving is considered low
- 20% DV or more of a nutrient per serving is considered high
Understand Nutrient Content Claims: Use %DV to help distinguish one claim from another, such as "light," "low," and "reduced." Simply compare %DVs in each food product to see which one is higher or lower in a particular nutrient. There is no need to memorize definitions.
Manage Dietary Trade-Offs: Use %DV to make dietary trade-offs with other foods throughout the day. You don't have to give up a favorite food to have a healthy diet. When a food you like is high in a nutrient you want to get less of—or low in a nutrient you want to get more of—you can balance it with foods that are low (or high) in that nutrient at other times of the day.
