Thanks to new U. S. labeling laws effective in 1994, understanding food labels is much easier than it once was. The Federal Nutrition Labeling and Education Act regulations not only require that specific information appear on processed food labels, they also implement improvements in four basic areas:

1. package claims (which are now federally defined and regulated);
2. serving sizes, which must be comparable for similar foods;
3. referring to the % Daily Value column quickly tells the consumer the percentage of a particular nutrient in the food;
4. by consulting the Daily Values, consumers can determine how much (or how little) of the major nutrients they should eat on a daily basis.

When checking the ingredients on packaged food, remember that most labels list ingredients in descending order by weight, not by amount. For example, a cereal with four ingredients, of which sugar is the third listed, most likely contains a small percentage of sugar. Labels must now include the total amount of fat, saturated fat and unsaturated fat (see fats and oils), although detailing the various types of the latter is optional. Be warned, however, that there's currently a major information gap in this labeling scheme because trans fatty acids (essentially unsaturated fat that's been transformed into saturated fat through hydrogenation), which may be part of the total fat listed, won't be classified as "saturated. " Add the amount of saturated fat and unsaturated fat together — if it doesn't equal the figure for total fat, the difference can most likely be attributed to trans fatty acids, which essentially translates to saturated fat. Following are many terms found on food labels. Low fat means the amount of fat per serving (or per 100 grams of food) is 3 grams or less; the phrase "90 (or other number) percent fat free" may only be used for low fat products. Reduced fat means the product contains 50 percent (or less) of the fat found in the product's regular version; reduced saturated fat is the same, but only in reference to saturated fat. Low in saturated fat means each serving contains 1 gram (or less) of saturated fat, and the number of calories from that source are not more than 15 percent of the total. Fat free indicates the product has less than 1/2 gram of fat per serving, providing there are no added fat or oil ingredients. Reduced cholesterol tells you the product contains 50 percent (or less) of the cholesterol found in the product's regular version. Low in cholesterol means the cholesterol per serving (or per 100 grams of food) is 20 milligrams or less, and that the saturated fat is 2 grams or less. Cholesterol free means the product (per serving) contains less than 2 milligrams of cholesterol and 2 grams (or less) of saturated fat. Reduced sodium signals at least 75 percent less sodium; low sodium means 140 milligrams or less per serving; very low sodium — 35 milligrams sodium per serving; sodium free — less than 5 milligrams per serving. Reduced calorie on a label means there are at least one-third fewer calories than in the product's regular form; low calorie indicates 40 calories or less per serving, and less than 0. 4 calories per gram of food. No sugar added means there's no table sugar, but there may be other forms of sugar such as corn syrup, dextrose, fructose, glucose, maltose or sucrose. Light (or lite) is a virtually meaningless term used in a variety of ways by individual manufacturers.

According to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the only parameter for this term is that it must contain "less of something," which means that it can refer to reduced calories, a lighter color or flavor (as with some oils), a fluffy (lighter) texture, or reduced fat, sugar, alcohol, etc. According to the FDA, the words natural flavorings refer to those that are "derived from a spice, fruit or fruit juice, edible yeast, herb, bark, bud, root, leaf or similar plant material, meat, seafood, poultry, egg, dairy product . . . whose significant function in food is flavoring rather than nutritional. " Be aware, however, that those broad parameters include ingredients like hydrolyzed protein and hvp, both of which contain msg.

The FDA has no set definition for the word natural. However, although there's no true consistency among manufacturers, the term generally means that the product has no artificial ingredients or intentional additives (although many "natural" foods are full of sugar, fat and preservatives). When the word "natural" is applied to meat or poultry, it generally means the product is minimally processed and free of artificial ingredients. Organic is another term that is often used without qualification, although in some states it refers to the fact that crops are pesticide free and that animal feed and water is sans chemicals. Enriched products are those that have lost nutrients during processing, then had them approximately replaced by enrichment. White flour, for example, loses 50 to 80 percent of many nutrients during processing, but then has some of them replaced. Fortified on a label (as with a breakfast cereal) tells you that nutrients have been added that weren't in the original ingredients. rda stands for "Recommended Dietary Allowance," the government-recommended daily amounts of protein, vitamins and minerals for healthy adults. Such amounts are ballpark figures and may vary slightly according to gender, conditions such as pregnancy, etc. See also additives.