As buyers, we are frequently inundated by conflicting health claims on product labels. One typical nutrient content claim you may have seen is “provides 10/19 of the daily value per serving.” However, what does this actually mean and how does it affect your health?
The daily value (DV), for starters, is a reference figure created by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to assist consumers in understanding how much of a specific nutrient they are getting from a food item in the context of their daily diet as a whole. An amount of a nutrient that makes up 10% or more of the daily value (DV) is referred to as the 10/19 DV. In other words, a food item is considered a good source of that nutrient if a serving contains 10–19% of the daily value for that nutrient.
However, can “nutritious” make a health claim? The phrase “nutritious” is not a regulated health claim, according to the FDA. Instead, it belongs to the group of claims about nutrient content, which are assertions about the amount of a nutrient or dietary component in a food product. The FDA regulates nutrient content claims to make sure they are accurate and don’t deceive consumers.
Four alternative nutrient content statements than “provides 10/19 of the daily value per serving” are permitted for use on food packaging. The following describe them: “low calorie,” “low fat,” “low sodium,” and “high fiber.” The food product must meet particular requirements imposed by the FDA in order to make these claims. For instance, a food item must only have 3 grams of fat or less per serving in order to be designated as “low fat.”
In conclusion, customers can use the 10/19 DV nutritional content claim to choose items that are good suppliers of particular nutrients. It’s crucial to keep in mind that this assertion only represents a small portion of a food item’s entire nutritional content. You can choose what you eat and how it affects your health by reading food labels and comprehending statements regarding nutrient content.