The food label was chosen in 1992 and was required to be on all products by May 1993 (however some extensions were granted until 1994). The word "standardized" is very important. Prior to this legislation, many manufacturers used unrealistic portion sizes to make their products look better. Also, there was great confusion among labeling terms such as "light." "Light" may mean fewer calories to one manufacturer and lighter in color to another. In addition, not all manufacturers chose to label their products. For instance, you would never have seen cookies with a food label before this law. Today, however, it is easy to check the fat and calorie content of what you eat. Many governments require food manufacturers to label the energy content of their products, to help consumers control their energy intake.

The focus of the new food label has changed. Fifty years ago, Americans were concerned with vitamin and mineral deficiencies, as well as malnutrition. Today these deficiencies are extremely rare, and people are dying of heart disease, strokes, cancer, and diseases related to obesity. For this reason, the new food label focuses on calories, fat, cholesterol, and sodium. Some vitamins and minerals are still listed, but are not as prominent on the new food label. The energy content of food is usually given on labels for 100 g and/or for what the manufacturer claims is a typical serving size. In Europe, manufacturers of prepackaged food must label the nutritional energy of their products in both kilocalories ("kcal") and kilojoules ("kJ"). In the United States, the equivalent mandatory labels display only "calories", often as a substitute for the name of the quantity being measured, food energy; an additional kilojoules figure is optional and is rarely used.

The food label is still a bit confusing to some people.

Serving size
Similar products have similar serving sizes. Sizes are based on amounts people actually eat

% Daily Value
Shows how a food fits into a 2000 calorie diet

Nutrients
Lists those nutrients important to health due to heart disease, blood pressure, cancer, obesity

Vitamins and Minerals

Reference diet

for 2000 and 2500 calories

What is most important for losing weight?

As you can see, there are many items we left off. Does this mean they are not important? Not entirely; but if simplicity is the goal, these 4 items are the best to focus on, without getting confused by trying to read all parts of the food label. We can go further by explaining each part of the food label.

Calories from fat
This tells you how many calories are provided by fat (fat grams X 9). If you are already counting your total fat grams, this is redundant, but it may give you better perspective on how much fat there really is.
Total carbohydrate
Carbohydrates are important nutrients, but counting how many grams of carbohydrate you have is getting a bit technical. If you watch calories and fat, this is sufficient. For people who need to know carbohydrate in grams, this information may be useful (many diabetics check carbohydrate content). Certain athletes such as marathon runners may find this information useful as well when a meticulous diet is part of a training regimen. For the average weight watcher, counting carbohydrates is not necessary.
Sugar
Most of us know sugar as "the bad guy", but sugar is a part of total carbohydrate and is not anymore fattening than complex carbohydrate. So why is it bad? Sugar (sucrose or table sugar) has no nutritional quality except calories, whereas complex carbohydrates contain fiber and some B vitamins. We call sugar "empty calories." Next time you look at a regular soda can, see how many grams of sugar it contains. Another food to check for sugar is breakfast cereal. All cereal generally has some added sugar; but compare a pre-sweetened cereal to a whole grain cereal next time you are shopping. Cereals that contain added sugar tend to be more expensive. And remember, extra sugar in the cereal means extra calories.
Protein
As long as you have a varied diet with adequate servings of dairy products, meat, poultry, fish, beans and legumes, there should be no reason for you to count protein in grams. Some people may wish to compare protein content to an ounce of meat or milk. Remember from Chapter 4 that one ounce of meat, fish, or poultry contains 7 grams of protein. A 8-ounce serving of milk (all types) or yogurt contains 8 grams of protein.
Nutrient label descriptions
What about the front of the package. Can you believe every thing you read to describe the product, and what exactly do all those terms mean? With the new labeling laws, all terms must be applied uniformly to ensure they mean the same to the consumer.

"Free"
The product contains no amount (or physiologically inconsequential), of one of these components: fat, saturated fat, cholesterol, sodium, sugars, or calories. For instance, "fat free" means less than 0.5 grams per serving and "calorie free" means less that 5 calories per serving.
"Low"
This food could be eaten frequently without exceeding dietary guidelines for one or more of the following components: fat, saturated fat, cholesterol, sodium, and calories. The following terms apply:

Low fat                           3 grams or less per serving
Low saturated fat         2 gram or less per serving
Low sodium                  Less than 140 mgs per serving
Very low sodium           Less than 35 mgs per serving
Low cholesterol            Less than 20 mgs per serving
Low calorie                   40 calories or less per serving

"Lean and extra lean"
                  Describes the fat content of meat, poultry, seafood, and game:
                  Lean Less than 10 grams of fat, less than 4 grams of saturated fat, and less than 95 mgs of cholesterol per serving and per 100 grams.

                  Extra lean Less than 5 grams of fat, less than 2 grams of saturated fat, and less than 95 mgs of cholesterol per serving and per 100 grams.