Nutrition Fact Panel What is a Nutrition Facts Panel? A label provides detailed information about a food's nutrient content, such as the amount of fat, sodium and fiber it has.
Knowing how to read food labels is especially important if you have health conditions, such as high blood pressure or high cholesterol, and need to follow a special diet. It also makes it easier to compare similar foods to see which a healthier choice is. The more practice you get reading food labels, the better you can become in using them as a tool to plan your healthy, balanced diet.
The importance of nutrition labels comes into play when you're making sure that you get adequate amounts of essential nutrients. The Daily Values -- or "% Daily Value" -- you see listed on the nutrition panel assumes you eat a 2000-calorie daily diet. Use the nutrition label to select foods that offer plenty of fiber, calcium, iron and vitamins A and C -- most people don't get enough of these nutrients in their diets, states the FDA. This holds true for true for all nutrients, even those you want to limit or avoid entirely. There may be some items on the ingredient list that you are not familiar with. Sometimes nutrients like saturated and trans fats, sodium and sugar can appear on an ingredient list under many different names.

Nutrition labels help you make better food choices for yourself and your family.
Nutrition labels are also important to millions of Canadians and their family members who have, or are