How to Read a Nutrition Facts Label: Serving Size, %DV and Added Sugars
The Nutrition Facts label on a box of crackers or a jar of sauce packs a lot into a small panel: serving size, calories, a list of nutrients and a column of percentages. Once you know what each part means, you can compare two foods in a few seconds and spot the numbers that matter to you.
The short answer: start with the serving size and how many servings are in the package, because every other number on the label is per serving. Then use the % Daily Value (%DV) column as a quick scale. The FDA calls 5% DV or less of a nutrient per serving low and 20% DV or more high. Check added sugars, sodium and saturated fat if you want less of them, and fiber, vitamin D, calcium, iron and potassium if you want more. This explainer walks through each part using real labels from foods we carry.
How we wrote this: every definition comes from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s own Nutrition Facts label pages, linked in each section. Product numbers are the label facts already listed on each product page, with the brand and an independent label listing linked. This is a guide to reading the label, not diet or medical advice. For supplements, see our guide to reading a Supplement Facts label.
The parts of the label
The FDA’s label guide splits the panel into two areas. The top section changes from food to food and holds the product’s own facts: serving information, calories and nutrients, with a %DV for most of them. The bottom section is a footnote that explains the %DV and the calorie figure used for general nutrition advice. We take them in the order the FDA does.
1. Serving size and servings per container
Look here first. The FDA’s serving size page says serving sizes are given in familiar units such as cups, pieces or tablespoons, followed by the metric amount in grams. By law they are based on the amount people typically eat or drink, not on how much they should. The FDA is clear that a serving size is not a recommendation.
Every number below the serving size, including calories, refers to one serving. If you eat two servings, you get twice the calories, nutrients and %DV. Some packages that could be eaten in one sitting carry a dual-column label with one column per serving and one for the whole package.
Two examples from our shelves:
- Simple Mills Almond Flour Crackers list a serving as 17 crackers (30 g), with about 4 servings per box (Simple Mills; Stop & Shop label listing). Eat half the box and you have had two servings.
- Banza Chickpea Rotini shows why the serving size matters when you read front-of-box numbers. The nutrition panel lists 11 g of protein per 2 oz (56 g) dry serving, while the 20 g headline refers to a larger 3.5 oz portion (Banza; Stop & Shop). Both figures are true; they describe different amounts.
2. Calories
Calories measure how much energy you get from one serving. The FDA’s calories page notes that 2,000 calories a day is used as a general guide for nutrition advice, and that your own needs may be higher or lower depending on your age, sex, height, weight and physical activity level. The number of servings you eat decides how many calories you actually get. A label can also show a food with under 5 calories per serving as 0, as our apple cider vinegar label guide explains.
For example, a 3-cup (28 g) serving of SkinnyPop Original Popcorn lists 150 calories (SkinnyPop; Hannaford label listing). A bag holds several servings, so the calories for the bag are a multiple of that figure.
3. Nutrients to get less of and more of
The FDA sorts the nutrients on the label into two groups:
- Nutrients to get less of: saturated fat, sodium and added sugars. The FDA says Americans generally eat too much of these.
- Nutrients to get more of: dietary fiber, vitamin D, calcium, iron and potassium. The FDA says Americans generally do not get the recommended amount of these. For how the fiber line relates to the net carb figures some brands print, see net carbs vs total carbs.
The FDA’s advice is to use the label to support your personal dietary needs: look for foods with more of the nutrients you want more of and less of the ones you may want to limit.
Sodium is a good place to practice. A 1 tbsp serving of San-J Organic Tamari lists 940 mg sodium (San-J; ShopRite label listing), which the label shows as 39% Daily Value. A 1/2 cup serving of Rao’s Homemade Marinara lists 420 mg sodium (Rao’s Homemade; Stop & Shop label listing), shown as 18% Daily Value.
4. Total sugars vs added sugars
The label lists two sugar lines. Per the FDA’s added sugars page, total sugars include sugars naturally present in foods such as milk and fruit as well as any added sugars. Added sugars are sugars added during processing (such as sucrose or dextrose), foods packaged as sweeteners such as table sugar, sugars from syrups and honey, and sugars from concentrated fruit or vegetable juices. The word “includes” before added sugars means they are counted inside the total sugars figure. Total sugars have no %DV because no recommendation has been set for the total amount to eat in a day. Added sugars do have one: the Daily Value is 50 g per day, based on a 2,000 calorie diet.
Two labels show the difference:
- A 40 g KIND Dark Chocolate Nuts & Sea Salt bar lists 5 g total sugars and 4 g added sugars (KIND; Healthline). So most of its sugar was added.
- A 1/2 cup serving of Rao’s Homemade Marinara lists 4 g total sugars and 0 g added sugars (Rao’s Homemade; Stop & Shop label listing). None of its sugar counts as added. Our pasta sauce label guide explains why a sauce with no added sugar still shows total sugars.
The FDA also notes an exception: single-ingredient sweeteners such as honey and maple syrup show a %DV for added sugars, and the gram amount may appear in a footnote instead, so the label does not look like sugar was added to sugar.
5. The % Daily Value and the 5/20 rule
The FDA defines the %DV as the percentage of the Daily Value for each nutrient in one serving. Daily Values are reference amounts of nutrients to eat, or not to exceed, each day. The %DV puts every nutrient on the same 0 to 100% scale, so you do not have to do the math. The column does not add up to 100%.
The quick guide from the FDA’s %DV page:
- 5% DV or less of a nutrient per serving is low.
- 20% DV or more of a nutrient per serving is high.
Back to the sodium examples: the San-J tamari’s 39% DV per tablespoon is high by this guide, while Rao’s 18% DV per 1/2 cup sits between low and high. Remember that both figures are per serving. Our almond label guide runs the same check on a low sodium snack.
The FDA suggests three uses for the %DV: comparing similar foods (with the same serving size), telling claims like “light,” “low” and “reduced” apart, and balancing a food that is high in one nutrient with foods that are low in it at other times of the day.
A few nutrients have no %DV. Trans fat and total sugars never show one. Protein shows a %DV only when the package makes a protein claim, such as “high in protein,” or the food is meant for children under 4, per the same FDA page.
Some Daily Values the FDA lists, based on a 2,000 calorie diet:
| Nutrient | Daily Value | FDA goal |
|---|---|---|
| Saturated fat | 20 g | Less than |
| Sodium | 2,300 mg | Less than |
| Added sugars | 50 g | Less than |
| Dietary fiber | 28 g | At least |
| Vitamin D | 20 mcg | At least |
| Calcium | 1,300 mg | At least |
| Iron | 18 mg | At least |
| Potassium | 4,700 mg | At least |
6. The footnote
At the bottom of the panel, the footnote explains that the %DV tells you how much a nutrient in a serving of food contributes to a daily diet, and that 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice, per the FDA. It is the same on every label, so once you have read it, you can skip it.
Putting it together: a 30 second label check
- Find the serving size and servings per container. Decide how many servings you will actually eat.
- Read the calories for one serving, then multiply if needed.
- Scan the %DV column. Use 5% as low and 20% as high.
- Check the nutrients you want less of (saturated fat, sodium, added sugars) and more of (fiber, vitamin D, calcium, iron, potassium).
- Compare total sugars with added sugars to see how much was added.
- Read the ingredient list too. The FDA notes that added sugars are just one piece of information on the label.
Try it on a treat: half a Hu Simple dark chocolate bar (30 g) lists 13 g fat with 8 g saturated, and 8 g added sugars (Hu Kitchen; Better Health Market). The serving is half the bar, so a whole bar is two servings.
FAQ
Is the serving size how much I should eat?
No. The FDA says serving sizes are based on how much people typically eat or drink, and a serving size is not a recommendation.
What does 5/20 mean on a food label?
It is the FDA’s quick guide to the %DV column: 5% DV or less of a nutrient per serving is low, and 20% DV or more is high.
Why do total sugars have no %DV?
Because no recommendation has been made for the total amount of sugar to eat in a day. Added sugars do have a %DV, with a Daily Value of 50 g based on a 2,000 calorie diet.
Does “includes 4 g added sugars” mean 4 g on top of total sugars?
No. The word “includes” means the added sugars are already counted inside the total sugars figure.
Do I need to eat 2,000 calories a day?
Not necessarily. The FDA uses 2,000 calories as a general guide for nutrition advice and says your needs may be higher or lower. If you have a health condition or specific needs, talk to your doctor.
Why is there no %DV for protein on most labels?
The FDA requires a protein %DV only when the package makes a protein claim or the food is meant for children under 4.
Is a Nutrition Facts label the same as a Supplement Facts label?
No. Foods carry Nutrition Facts, while dietary supplements carry Supplement Facts, which work differently. Our supplement label guide covers that panel.
Where to go next
Put the label to work in our healthy snacks buying guide and healthy pantry staples guide, or compare labels across our high-protein snacks, gluten-free snacks and pantry staples and vegan snacks and pantry staples roundups.