How to Read Food and Beverage Labels
Reading food labels helps us make healthier decisions by understanding what’s in the foods and drinks we consume. In many countries, including the United States, packaged foods and beverages (in cans, boxes, bottles, jars, or bags) include nutrition and ingredient information on the label. However, these labels can sometimes be misleading or hard to interpret.
This guide explains the types of information you may find on food and beverage packaging—and offers tips on how to understand it.
Understanding Product Dates
Packaged foods and beverages typically display three types of date labels:
“Sell by” date – Indicates how long the store should display the product (often for meat, poultry, eggs, or dairy). Purchase before this date.
“Use by” date – Refers to the last date for peak quality. Using a product after this date may mean it loses freshness or flavor.
“Best if used by/before” date – Shows the period for best flavor or quality.
These dates do not tell you when the food becomes unsafe to eat or drink. In fact, date labeling is not federally required and is set voluntarily by manufacturers.
How to Read the Nutrition Facts Label
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) requires most packaged foods and beverages to display a Nutrition Facts label.
At the top, you’ll see the servings per container and the serving size. This is based on what people typically eat at one time, not a recommendation for how much you should eat.
The rest of the label usually lists nutrition per serving (see Label A).
For items that could be eaten in one sitting but contain multiple servings (e.g., a pint of ice cream), labels may include two columns (see Label B): one for per serving and one for per package.
If you eat the whole package, you’ll consume double the calories, nutrients, sugar, and fat listed per serving.
When There’s No Label
Fresh produce typically does not have nutrition labels, though frozen or canned varieties do. For nutrition details on fresh foods, you can visit the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) website or call the USDA Food and Nutrition Information Center at 301-504-5414.
Understanding % Daily Value (%DV)
The %DV shows how much a nutrient in one serving of food contributes to a daily diet, based on a 2,000-calorie diet.
Your actual calorie needs may be higher or lower depending on your lifestyle.
If you consume fewer calories, your %DV for a nutrient may be higher than shown.
Some nutrients don’t list %DV, but you can compare them by grams.
For most older adults:
Limit: saturated fat, sodium, and added sugars (aim for less than 100% DV).
Increase: dietary fiber, vitamin D, calcium, and potassium (aim for at least 100% DV).
Tip: A nutrient is considered low if it’s 5% DV or less per serving, and high if it’s 20% DV or more per serving. Whether that’s good or bad depends on the nutrient.
How to Read the Ingredients List
Ingredients are listed in descending order by weight—the first ingredient is the most abundant.
Watch for added sugars under names like brown sugar, corn syrup, glucose, fructose, high-fructose corn syrup.
Artificial sweeteners such as sucralose, saccharin, aspartame, and acesulfame potassium should also be consumed in moderation.
Common Marketing Terms—and What They Really Mean
Some labels are regulated by the FDA, but others are not. Always check the nutrition label to be sure.
Low-fat – Processed to reduce calories or fat; sometimes sugar or other additives are used instead.
Low-fat / low-calorie / low-carb – These have legal limits per serving, but multiple servings can add up quickly.
Multigrain – Simply means the product contains more than one type of grain; not necessarily whole grain.
Organic – Produced without conventional pesticides, synthetic fertilizers, GMOs, or irradiation. Organic animals are fed organic feed and not given hormones or antibiotics. Nutrient content may be similar to non-organic foods.
Bottom line: Understanding food and beverage labels empowers you to make informed, healthier choices—especially as nutritional needs change with age.