Daily Values and Unit Changes on the New Nutrition Facts Label

DAILY VALUES VS PERCENT DAILY VALUES

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Watson Inc.

5 min readJul 12, 2016

Daily values are recommended levels of intake for each nutrient. It is the number that shows the daily requirement for each nutrient. Daily values are based on a 2,000 calorie per day diet. The daily value is used to calculate the percent daily value. The daily value is not seen on the Nutrition Facts Label, but is instead reported as a percent daily value.

Percent Daily values are based on daily values and give a general idea of how nutrients in the food fit in the overall diet. Percent daily values allows consumers to easily calculate how much of each nutrient is required. The goal is to meet or not go above 100% of the DV for each nutrient per day(1).

New Labeling Regulation Inforgraphic

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DAILY VALUE CHANGES

Most of these changes have occurred because of the dietary related diseases that are common in the United States. Below are some of the nutrients that have daily value changes.

Sodium. The DV for sodium decreases from 2,400 to 2,300 mg per day. This is lowered in order to be consistent with the DRI for sodium. Lowering the DV for sodium makes the percent daily value higher in many processed foods. This encourages consumers to be more aware of the sodium content of foods and prompts manufacturers to decrease sodium content.
Fiber. The DV of fiber increases from 25 to 28 grams. There is an increase in the DV because of research on the high intake of fiber to lower the risk of CVD.
Calcium. The DV increases from 1,000 to 1,300 mg. This is because a high intake of calcium builds bones and reduces the risk of osteoporosis.
Potassium. The DV for potassium increases from 3,500 mg to 4,700 mg. This is to increase the consumer awareness for potassium. Potassium lowers blood pressure and helps reduce the risk of CVD.
Total fat. Surprisingly, the DV of fat increases from 65 to 78 gm. The FDA does not wish to place limitations on the total amount of fat. The Daily Reference Value of fat changed from 30 to 35% so consumers will not be misled to limit their fat intake with the intent of making healthier choices on the types of fat they will consume.
Vitamin C. DV increase from 60 to 90 mg
Phosphorus. DV increase from 1,000 to 1,250 mg
Vitamin K. DV increase from 80 to 120 mcg
Magnesium. DV increase from 400 to 420 mg
Manganese. DV increase 2 to 2.3 mg (2).

CHANGE IN UNITS

There are no longer International Units (IU) for Vitamin A, D, and E. These will be replaced with mcg and mg. Institute of Medicine (IOM) Labeling Committee recommended this change in order to be consistent with the new Dietary Reference Intake reports. There is also strong scientific evidence that support these changes

Vitamin A. The unit for vitamin A was 5,000 IU, but now it is 900 mcg Retinol Activity Equivalent (RAE). This change is because the IU for vitamin A does not represent the correct carotene to retinol equivalency ratio.
Vitamin E. The unit was 30 IU, but now it has changed to 15 mg alpha tocopherol. Alpha tocopherol is used because it is the only type of vitamin E that stays in the blood and has biological activity.
Folate. The unit for folate was 400 mcg and is now 400 mcg Dietary Folate Equivalents (DFE). The IOM labeling committee recommends using DFE. The formula for DFE is the following: 1 DFE = 1 mcg food folate + (1.7 x mcg synthetic folic acid). DFE shows the larger bioavailability of synthetic folic acid in fortified foods and supplements than in natural foods. So now that DFE is used, it shows the total folate in the food on the nutrition facts label which includes food folate and synthetic folic acid.
Vitamin D. The unit was 400 IU but now it is 20 mcg. Vitamin D labeling used to be voluntary, though now it is required for labeling on the nutrition facts label (3).

HOW WILL THIS AFFECT YOU?

The change in daily values and units might seem minor to the public, which is why it has gone unnoticed when the changes to the Nutrition Facts Label were released. Most consumers will not even realize this minor change in numbers and units on the Nutrition Facts Label. A major concern is that the change in daily values will affect the ability of the manufacturer to make nutrient claims. In order to be a considered “good source”, the product needs to contain 10–19 % DV of that nutrient. If a food is 5% or less of a nutrient, it is considered “low” in that nutrient. And, if the food has 20% or more, the product it is considered “high” in that nutrient. Now that the daily values are changing, some products might not be eligible to be labeled a “good”, “low”, or “high” source. When daily values increase, the percent daily value will decrease on the original product. And when daily values decrease, using sodium as an example, the claim for a product that is originally “low sodium” might not be considered “low” anymore. Companies will need to either remove the claim from their packaging or reformulate the product to appeal to the customers looking for a healthier choice. (4)

Education is key to inform consumers of these changes. Educational campaigns can help consumers better understand the changes to the Nutrition Facts Label and how to use it to encourage overall health and make healthy choices while grocery shopping.

Have questions on how to correctly use the Nutrition Facts Label? Click here for a great guide!