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- What are % daily values?
- How are % daily values displayed?
- What is the purpose of showing % daily vales?
The % daily values show how much of each nutrients is in a good, given that the frame of reference is an adult on a 200 calorie (8400 kilojoules) diet.
The % daily values are simply a guideline to make consumer aware how much of each nutrient is the food and to help them make better (and healthier) food choices.
The % daily values gives a clear indication of whether a food is high or low in certain nutrients.
How are % daily values displayed?
The % daily values is usually displayed at the right of each nutrient on the nutritional label.
The following is an example showing how % daily values are displayed on nutrition labels (highlighted in pink):
What is the purpose of displaying % daily values?
The purpose of displaying % daily values is to give consumers more information about the nutritional value of the foods they are consuming.
The % daily values allow consumers to be aware of the energy value (calories or kilojoules), the amount of fat (total as well as saturated), sugars and sodium that is contained in the food.
It is important that consumers know these facts, because high calorie intake is implicated in obesity, which is a risk factor for many chronic diseases (such as Type 2 Diabetes) and high sodium intake is known to increase blood pressure.
More information
To learn more about the types of nutritional information on food labels, see Food Standards Australia (PDF).
references
- Food Standards Australia and New Zealand - information about the nutrition labels in Australia and New Zealand, accessed 7 January 2007
- US FDA - Understanding Nutrition Labels - detailed information about all nutrition labels in the USA
