Infant food labels do not list calories from fat, saturated fat, or cholesterol content. This is done to avoid focusing on these nutrients as ones to control in a child’s diet. During the first two years of life, babies require fat and cholesterol to fuel their growth and for brain development. There is hardly ever a medical reason for limiting these nutrients. Serving sizes are based on average amounts that children eat at any given time. The Daily Value (DV) provides information about how a serving of that food fits into a reference diet. The Nutrition Facts Panel on foods intended for children excludes % DV for fat, cholesterol, sodium, potassium, carbohydrate, and fiber because there are no established DV for these nutrients in children under the age of four. Manufacturers are not allowed to make health claims about the benefits of foods intended for young children.
What’s It All About? Food labels are full of useful information. Here’s how to get more out of them.
% DV. These figures provide a basis for determining how a serving of a certain food fits into your daily requirements for selected nutrients, and, ultimately, whether it’s worth eating. For instance, an 8-ounce glass of milk supplies 30 percent of the DV for calcium, which happens to be 1,000 milligrams. That means eight ounces of milk provides 300 milligrams of calcium, a considerable bang for the buck. The % DV is the best estimate of how a serving of processed food helps satisfy daily nutrient needs. Health claims. A health claim makes reference to the potential benefits of that particular food, or of a nutrient found in it. Example: Eating high-fiber grain products may help prevent some cancers. Health claims are typically positioned on the front of food packages.
