Truth on USA’s Food Nutrition Labeling

The food nutrition label, now on nearly all packaged foods in the USA, is vital to making informed and healthy decisions regarding food. Here is some of what I look for while shopping for packaged food.

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USA Labeling History

Nutritional Labels started to crop up in the USA in the 1970s although were not really universal until the 1990s. In fact, the USA Nutrition Facts label first appeared in 1994, and was revised in 2016. These days, the terms are defined by the FDA and change occasionally, seemingly with each change of a president, and with the stated intent to improve its usability for consumers.

• G.W. Bush modified the label in 2006 by adding trans fat.
• Obama’s 2016 changes were to update the serving sizes definition to reflect how much people actually eat, boldface caloric numbers, and added sugars (per FDA).
• Biden’s 2022 changes (Biden’s plan), included placing nutritional information on the front of packages, created a graphic to indicate healthier products, and a universal healthy label defined by nutrtional science. Very importantly, there was also a plan to assure nutritional data was available for on-line food purchasing.

Using this little data box can provide the majority of the information you need to make informed and healthy decisions regarding the food you eat and serve your family. So following is what I think we should be looking at to make our purchase decisions.

What Do the Numbers Mean?

Percentage of Daily Value (PDV)

The data is presented with the assumption a consumer is consuming 2000 calories per day, which we all know varies tremendously. But with this average, the PDV can be calculated. I pay attention to the sodium percentage, for often packed food is high in sodium and it is too easy to over-consume salt.

Serving Size

This is not the dietitian’s recommendation of serving size, but is up to the manufacturer’s of the packaged food. This means it is manipulatable. If I want the calories to look smaller for the can of soda I sell, I can say it contains 2 servings. Even if I know full well, the actual serving size is 1, because a typical person will drink the whole can.

So pay attention to the details.

• Serving sizes should be listed by amount and measurement. So for instance, it could say 2 cookies (item) or 3 ounces (measurement).
• Some packaged foods measure differently when raw or cooked. So for oatmeal, it may state 1C uncooked. Meaning the measurement is for the dry, raw or uncooked oats and not a measurement after it is cooked.

Helpful is that some packaged foods now show two labels, one for their view of a serving size and another if you consume the whole thing.

Fat

We all need to eat fat of some sort. But we want to separate out heart-healthy mono- or polyunsaturated fats from the more worrisome saturated and trans fat. For this reason the label lists the amount of fat from those sources, which ADA defines as:

Cholesterol

We need some level of cholesterol for it has a critical part in our bodies production of harmones, digestion and in the making of VitD. It is a waxy substance found in both animal-based foods, and also in our cells.

• Cholesterol free: <2 mg per serving
• Low cholesterol: <20 mg
• Reduced cholesterol or less cholesterol: at least 25% less cholesterol than the regular version

Sodium

Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommends adults limit sodium intake to less than 2,300 mg per day or 1t per day. What does research and medical providers say can happen if we eat too much salt?

• Immediate symptoms
  • Increased thirst
  • Swollen feet or hands
  • Headache (in some cases)
  • Rise in blood pressure
• Longer term symptoms
  • High blood pressure (hypertension)
  • Heart disease
  • Stroke
  • Kidney disease
  • Kidney stones

There are lots of hype regarding salt on packaging, but here is what the ADA thinks we need to keep in mind:

• Sodium free or salt free: <5 mg of sodium/serving
• Very low sodium: <35 mg of sodium
• Low sodium: <140 mg of sodium
• Reduced sodium or less sodium: at least 25% less sodium than the regular version

Total Carbohydrates

Total carbohydrates is an important figure for use by people living with diabetes. The American Diabetes Associations (ADA) writes: total carbohydrate on the label includes all three types of carbohydrate: sugar, starch and fiber. I have learned that it is very important to use the total grams when counting carbs, deciding portion sizes, or choosing which foods to eat.

Below the Total Carbohydrate heading, you will find a breakdown of the types of carbohydrate in the food. Sometimes, you might see the phrase ”net carbohydrates”, but this is not defined by the government or ADA.

Sugar + Added Sugar

ADA recommends:

• Sugar free: <0.5 grams of sugar per serving
• Reduced sugar: at least 25% less sugar per serving than the regular version
• No sugar added or without added sugars: I look for no sugar or sugar-containing ingredients for my food

Fiber

I use fiber for two items: 1) it is an important number for people living with diabetes, and 2) to assure there is enough fiber in our diets for gut health and a healthy elimination.

Regarding diabetes, fiber is a type of carb that our bodies cannot digest, which means fiber does not increase blood sugar levels. Because of this, many diabetics subtract the grams of fiber from the total carbohydrate count.

Again, for health, I want fiber in our meals. I will add hidden fiber, such as psyllium fiber, into my meals to make sure we have ~3g. I do not go overboard with adding fiber for it can cause problems for some people, and I let anyone who is a diabetic know about what I added since it can effect how much insulin they add.

• Good source of fiber: 2.5 to 4.9 grams of fiber per serving
• High fiber: >5 grams of fiber per serving

Protein

There are several ways to measure protein in food. Most often I hear about one way specifically; the Kjeldahl method. This is one industry standard test used to routinely measure the crude protein content of foods. This method measures the total nitrogen content of a food, which is then used to estimate the crude protein content by applying a conversion factor to the result.

MayoClinic writes, anywhere from 10% to 35% of your calories should come from protein.

• So if your needs are 2,000 calories, that’s 200–700 calories from protein, or 50–175 grams.
• The recommended dietary allowance to prevent deficiency for an average sedentary adult is 0.8 grams per kilogram of body weight.

DietaryGuidelines writes, consuming enough protein is important to prevent the loss of lean muscle mass that occurs naturally with age. Monitoring protein intake is especially important as older adults transition through this life stage. Intake patterns show average intakes of protein foods is lower for individuals ages 71 and older compared to adults ages 60 through 70. About 50 percent of women and 30 percent of men 71 and older fall short of protein foods recommendations.

One important note, is that it is possible to eat too much protein. Doing this may result in kidney stones. If the protein is mainly animal based, eating too much could lead to a higher risk of heart disease and colon cancer. I have not yet seen reports that too much of plant proteins lead to similar results.

Nutrients of Concern

Four vitamins and minerals are required to be listed on every updated Nutrition Facts label:

• VitD
• Calcium
• Iron
• Potassium. 

But manufacturers may add other items, for instance VitA and VitC, although no longer required, may be posted by the manufacturers. This is often true with foods, like plant milks, who are ”fortified” with additional nutrients. Such as iodine or VitA in processed foods given out in parts of the world.

Check Allergens

Each Nutritional Label should separately list food allergens that are most common. This is not a full list of the top 10 allergens, so if your allergy or sensitivity is not on this list be sure to read the ingredient list carefully.

PS What About Date Labels?

Let me be very clear, dates on products does not mean that the food expires on that date. The USDA-FSIS says that having open dating labels is voluntary and up to the manufacturer (or retailer). But if these dates are used, they must follow published guidelines and can’t stamp anything misleading, or untruthful. Let’s find out what those dates actually mean.

• A “Best if Used By/Before” date indicates when a product will be of best flavor or quality.  It is not a purchase or safety date.
• A “Sell-By” date tells the store how long to display the product for sale for inventory management.  It is not a safety date. 
• A “Use-By” date is the last date recommended for the use of the product while at peak quality. It is not a safety date except for when used on infant formula.
• A “Freeze-By” date indicates when a product should be frozen to maintain peak quality. It is not a purchase or safety date.

Coffee + Tea

I checked, and coffee, tea, + spices are basically exempt from FDA nutrition labeling requirements, if they contain “insignificant” amounts of nutrients required to be included in the “Nutrition Facts” panel, and if no “claims” are made about the items. This includes, “healthy,” “low fat,” and so on.

After some research, I found data to show a sample of a green tea nutritional label. Most tea sellers, like my favorite Chinese tea Verdant, do not show these labels for plain, minimally processed tea leaves. For coffee and tea it is the additives that count, like milk or sugar and drinks with those additions should have labels, or any prepared drink like bottled coffee or tea.

Spices + Herbs

Rarely do I see nutritional labels on single herbs or spices, they tend to appear on mixes though, like a packaged Taco Mix. In general, herbs and spices may have small amounts of calories, but have many other healthy compounds. Some spices, for instance, may have protein that is comparable to whole grains and dried legumes. Additionally, I found that the average values for calcium, magnesium, iron, sodium, and potassium were higher in herbs than in spices (1). In fact, studies have shown spices and herbs such as clove, rosemary, sage, oregano, and cinnamon are excellent sources of antioxidants with their high content of phenolic compounds.

If nothing else, I hope you start to look at these graphics for the food you buy. As an aside, raw veggies and fruit also do not require a nutrition label.
—Patty

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