How to read a nutrition label, step by step

Where should you start?

With the serving information at the top. The FDA points out that every amount on the label, calories included, refers to one serving, so the first job is to compare the serving size with what you actually eat.

Serving sizes are standardized so similar foods are easy to compare. They reflect the amount people typically eat or drink, and the FDA stresses that they are not a recommendation. In the FDA's own example, a serving of frozen lasagna is 1 cup with 280 calories. Eat the whole package, 4 servings, and you get 1,120 calories.

Two labeling rules help with packages people finish in one go. A package sold individually that holds less than 200 percent of the standard serving must be labeled as one serving. Packages holding 200 to 300 percent must add a second column with the amounts for the whole package.

How are calories shown?

As calories per serving, rounded. FDA rules require calories to be rounded to the nearest 5 up to 50 calories and to the nearest 10 above that, and allow anything under 5 to be listed as zero.

The number is also allowed some slack. A packaged food counts as mislabeled only if it holds more than 20 percent above the calories on its label. In a 2013 study of 24 popular snack foods, measured calories ran a median of 4.3 percent above the labels, well within that limit.

How do you use the % Daily Value?

The % Daily Value, or %DV, shows how much of a day's reference amount one serving provides. According to the FDA, 5 percent or less of a nutrient per serving is low, and 20 percent or more is high. The column doesn't add up to 100, because each line is measured against its own Daily Value.

The Daily Values are based on a 2,000-calorie diet, which labels use as a general guide. Some are limits and some are goals:

In the FDA's lasagna example, one serving has 850 mg of sodium, or 37 percent of the Daily Value. That's high, and two servings would provide 74 percent.

What's the difference between total and added sugars?

Total sugars include sugar that occurs naturally in foods such as milk and fruit, plus any added sugar. Added sugars are the ones put in during processing or packaged as sweeteners, including syrups and honey. The word "Includes" before Added Sugars means they are already counted in the total. In the FDA's yogurt example, 15 grams of total sugars include 7 grams of added sugars.

The 2025–2030 Dietary Guidelines suggest no more than 10 grams of added sugars in one meal. To spot added sugars in the ingredient list, they suggest looking for words that include "sugar" or "syrup" or end in "-ose."

What does "0 grams" really mean?

Not always zero. Under FDA rules, a serving with less than 0.5 grams of fat can list 0 grams, and the same goes for total and added sugars. A serving with fewer than 5 calories can list zero calories. That rarely matters for one serving, but it can add up if you eat several.

Trans fat and total sugars have no % Daily Value at all. The FDA notes that most uses of artificial trans fat in the U.S. food supply were phased out as of 2018.