Reading Food Labels

Careful examination of food labels can help you to provide the best nutrition possible for your family.

Reading the nutrition information on food labels enables you to:

• Make informed food choices
• Compare products more easily
• Determine the nutritional value of foods
• Increase or decrease your intake of certain nutrients
• Better manage special diets

Follow Eating Well with Canada's Food Guide more easily
Here are some examples of what you may see on food labels. For more complete information visit the website links located below.

Nutrition Claims

Nutrient content claims tell you about 1 nutrient such as sodium, fat, sugar or fibre. For example: no sugar added, fat free, excellent source of fibre.

Health claims tell you how your diet can affect your health. For example: A healthy diet low in saturated and trans fats may reduce the risk of heart disease.

Ingredient List

The ingredient list tells you what ingredients are in a packaged food. Ingredients are listed by weight from most to least.

The Nutrition Facts Table

Provides you with information on the Calories and 13 nutrients for the serving size shown. Compare the serving size on the package to the amount that you eat.

Percent Daily Value

% Daily Value puts nutrients on a scale from 0% to 100%. This scale tells you if there is a little or a lot of a nutrient in 1 serving of packaged food.

Choose packaged foods with a low % Daily Value of:

• Fat, saturated fat, trans fat
• Cholesterol
• Sodium

Choose packaged foods with a high % Daily Value of:

• Fibre
• Vitamin A and vitamin C
• Calcium
• Iron

Related Links

• Want to Learn More About Balancing Your Diet? It Starts with Understanding Eating Well with Canada’s Food Guide
• Learn more at the Nutrition Labelling Education Centre
• Visit Health Canada’s website on nutrition labelling