FACS Standards 8.6.1, 8.6.2, 8.6.3Kowtaluk, Helen and Orphanos Kopan, Alice. Food For Today. McGraw Hill – Glencoe. 2004.

FOOD LABELS

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USDA regulates much of information on most food labels

Aim – make sure consumers have complete, useful, and accurate information about foods they buy and eat

Food name

Net weight

Manufacturer, packager, or distributor

Location of company

Ingredients listed from most to least

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Source of nutrition information

Nearly all packaged foods carry standardized “Nutrition Facts” panel

Each panel contains same information in standard format – serving size, calories, nutrient amounts, percent of Daily Value

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Based on amount of food customarily taken at one time

FDA has set established amounts

Rest of label based on one serving size

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Total calories per serving

Calories from fat

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Nutrients most important to a healthy eating plan are given in total fat, cholesterol, sodium, total carbohydrate, dietary fiber, sugars, and protein

% Daily Value – specific nutrition reference amount recommended by health experts

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Low… - can be used on labels of food that could be eaten frequently without exceeding recommended amounts of indicated nutrients

Reduced…; less…; fewer…. – must have at least 25% less of something than a comparable food

High in…. – means one serving provides at least 20% of the Daily Value for a specified nutrient

Good source of …. – one serving contains 10-19% of Daily Value for a particular nutrient

…-Free – an amount of ingredient is so small that it is not likely to affect your body

Organically grown…. – manner in which a fresh or processed food was grown or produced – typically without pesticides or fertilizers

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Voluntary, industry-wide system

Except for infant formula and some baby food, federal government does not require food manufacturers or processors to provide dating information

“sell by” date – last day the product should remain on store shelf

“Use by” date – product may still be safe to eat, but quality will start to go down

Code dating – series of numbers or letters that indicate where and when the product was packaged

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Some products are “graded” and this information is on food label

Beverages that contain juice must list the percentage of juice

Picture on label should be what is inside OR package must state “serving suggestion”

Directions for using product may be on label

Special handling instructions also on label

UPC – Universal Product Code – bar code read by a scanner

1st 5 numbers identify the manufacturer; 2nd 5 identify product size and flavor

Price identifier; inventory