We scanned a label from a bag of salad greens-in this instance, small pieces of romaine lettuce and radicchio. Here's what the label tells us:
(1) This heading assures us that the manufacturer is complying with the new label laws.
(2) New labels must now have realistic serving sizes, in both household (ounces) and metric measures (grams). Before, manufacturers could use their own serving size, often too small to be realistic. This label indicates the serving size is 3 ounces/about 2 cups and that there's about 3 1/2 servings in the bag.
(3) New mandatory components help you to meet suggested dietary guidelines of no more than 30 percent of calories from fat, in addition to the calories per serving. For this product, there are 15 calories per serving and 0 calories from fat.
(4) Nutrients reported on the nutrition panel are those most important to the health of today's consumers-fat, saturated fat, cholesterol, sodium, total carbs, dietary fiber, sugars, and protein. This label indicates 0 fat, 0 saturated fat, 0 cholesterol, 10 mg sodium, 3 g total carbohydrate, 1 g dietary fiber, 2 g sugars, 1 g protein
(5) This is where you need to realize that the percentages shown are for 2,000 and 2,5000 calorie diets-likely quite a higher caloric intake than your own diet as prescribed by your physician or dietitian.
Shop smart and read the food label before you buy.
FTG
