Focus on the Facts – How to use Serving Size and % Daily Value
- 1. START with Serving Size
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You can find the Serving Size under the header "Nutrition Facts".
Information in the Nutrition Facts table is based on this quantity of food.
- 2. USE % Daily Value
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You can find the % Daily Value on the right side of the Nutrition Facts table.
Use the % Daily Value to see if the Serving Size has a little or a lot of a nutrient.
- 3. LOOK at a Nutrient
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Choose packaged food that has more of the nutrients you want and less of the nutrients you don't want.
MAKE an informed food choice
Alternative Formats
- 5% Daily Value or less is a little.
- 15% Daily Value or more is a lot.
When making an informed food choice here are some nutrients you may want...
a little of
- Saturated and trans fat
- Sodium
a lot of
- Fibre
- Vitamin A
- Calcium
- Iron
This applies to all nutrients with a % Daily Value.
Comparing two packaged food products.
- Start with Serving Size
For Soup A and Soup B it is 1 cup (250 mL). - Use the % Daily Value to see if the Serving Size has a little or a lot of a nutrient.
- Look at a Nutrient
In this example, Soup A has a little saturated and trans fat and a lot of fibre and vitamin A compared to Soup B.
Comparing the Serving Size on the Nutrition Facts table to the amount you eat.
- Start with Serving Size
On this product it is 4 crackers (20 g). - Use the % Daily Value to see if the Serving Size has a little or a lot of a nutrient.
- Look at a Nutrient.
Think about how the information relates to the amount you eat.
If you eat 2 crackers, divide the calories and % Daily Value information in half to know how much of each nutrient is in that Serving Size.
If you eat 4 crackers, use the information on the Nutrition Facts table to know how many calories and how much of each nutrient is in that Serving Size.
If you eat 8 crackers, double the calories and % Daily Value information to know how much of each nutrient is in that Serving Size.
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