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Nutirtion Information

Nutrition information is required in the United States by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Founded in 1902 under the Biologics Control Act, the FDA is responsible for overseeing the food, beverage, medicine, and cosmetics industries in the United States. It started requiring ingredients lists on anything labeled as a food product in the 1950’s. Through the intervening years the requirements for labeling have evolved into the labeling we see today.

In order for nutritional information to be required for an item it must be deemed food. The FDA’s definition of food is a) articles used for food or drink by man or other animals; b) chewing gum, and c) articles used as components of any such article. This clunky definition can be boiled down to the following maxim: if you or another animal would eat or drink it, or would use it to make something to eat or drink; then it is food. The definition may seem unnecessary, but businesses often try to evade regulation by claiming that their product is not food.

Nutritional information required on modern food labeling is not perfect, but it is fairly comprehensive. The most basic aspect of the label will be the ingredients list. The label is also required to list a serving size (how much they consider a suitable portion), and information based on that size. The information includes such things as calories, calories from fat, fat, sugar, protein, cholesterol, and carbohydrate amounts for the serving. A separate section will list the vitamins and minerals contained in a serving.

When reading nutrition information it is important to note the serving size. Many unhealthy foods will attempt to seem less bad for you by utilizing an extremely small serving size. For instance the serving size on some bags of chips is as small as 8 chips! Not many adults follow that guideline. Once you note the serving size see how much of the recommended daily value of your dietary needs are contained in the product. If you are looking to monitor your diet exactly, writing a spreadsheet for what you eat can be extremely helpful.

 

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