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MARCH 2022

How to read a food label

Walk down any supermarket aisle, and you’ll see products with enticing labels. But the real story is on the back of the label. Checking labels may take more time when you’re shopping, but it’s worth it. You’ll feel better knowing you’re making a healthy choice for yourself and your family. And you can teach your kids to be smarter consumers by sorting out nutrition facts from empty claims.

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Serving information

Take a look at the serving size and the number of servings per container. The calories and other nutritional information are based on one serving.

Calories

Calories are a measure of how much energy you get from a serving of this food. If you ate the entire package of granola, you’d get 1,400 calories. The average number of calories your body uses is 2,000 per day. (The total varies by age, sex, weight, height and activity level.) Eating too many calories per day is associated with being overweight and obese.

Nutrients

Section three shows key nutrients that can impact your health. As a general guideline, nutrients to get less of include saturated fat, sodium and added sugars (sugars that are added during processing). Nutrients to get more of include dietary fiber, vitamin D, calcium, iron and potassium.

% Daily value

The %DV shows how much a nutrient in a serving of a food contributes to your total daily diet. It can help you determine if a serving of food is high or low in a nutrient. If it contributes less than 5% of your DV it’s low. If it’s more than 20% it’s high.¹

Looking for ways to improve your diet and overall health? See the resources below for more information, including Costco benefits that can help.

¹ U.S. Food & Drug Administration. How to understand and use the nutrition facts label.