How To Read Food and Beverage Labels

Understanding what’s in the foods and beverages we may consume can help us make healthier decisions .

Understanding what’s in the foods and beverages we may consume can help us make healthier decisions .

In many countries, including the United States, packaged foods and drinks — the types that come in cans, boxes, bottles, jars, and bags — include nutrition and ingredient information on their labels.

在包括美国在内的许多国家，包装食品和饮料（罐装、盒子、瓶子、罐子和袋子中的类型）在其标签上包含营养和成分信息。

However, sometimes these labels can be misleading and difficult to decipher.

However, sometimes these labels can be misleading and difficult to decipher.

Read on to learn about the types of information that may be printed on food and beverage packaging and get tips for how to best interpret that information.

请继续阅读，了解食品和饮料包装上可能印刷的信息类型，并获取如何最好地解释这些信息的提示。

There are three types of product dates commonly printed on packaged foods and beverages:

包装食品和饮料上通常印有三种类型的产品日期：

None of these dates tell you when an item is no longer safe to eat or drink.

这些日期都无法告诉您某种物品何时不再可以安全食用或饮用。

In fact, product dates are not required by federal regulations and are added voluntarily by manufacturers.

In fact, product dates are not required by federal regulations and are added voluntarily by manufacturers.

Learn more about food safety and older adults.

了解有关食品安全和老年人的更多信息。

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) requires a Nutrition Facts label on most packaged foods and beverages.

美国食品和药物管理局 (FDA) 要求大多数包装食品和饮料都贴有营养成分标签。

At the top of the Nutrition Facts label, you will find the total number of servings in the container and the food or beverage’s serving size.

在营养成分标签的顶部，您可以找到容器中的总份数以及食品或饮料的份量。

The serving size on the label is based on the amount of food that people may typically eat at one time and is not a recommendation of how much to eat.

标签上的份量是基于人们通常一次可以吃的食物量，而不是建议吃多少。

Read more about serving and portion sizes .

了解有关份量和份量的更多信息。

The remainder of the label information is usually based on one serving of the food or beverage (see Food Label A).

标签信息的其余部分通常基于一份食品或饮料（参见食品标签 A）。

However, if the container has more than one serving but typically might be consumed in one sitting — such as a pint of ice cream — the label will have two additional columns (see Food Label B).

然而，如果容器中的份量超过一份，但通常可能一次食用（例如一品脱冰淇淋），则标签上将有两列附加内容（请参阅食品标签 B）。

The first of these columns lists the calories and nutrients in one serving.

第一栏列出了一份食物中的卡路里和营养成分。

The second lists that same information for the entire container.

第二个列出了整个容器的相同信息。

If you eat an entire package of food that contains two servings, you will get twice as many calories, nutrients, sugar, and fat as are in one serving.

如果您吃一整包包含两份的食物，您将获得两倍于一份的卡路里、营养、糖和脂肪。

Feeling confused about how much of these nutrients you should eat?

对于您应该摄入多少这些营养素感到困惑？

Check out our resources about how much and what older adults should eat to support healthy aging.

查看我们的资源，了解老年人应该吃多少和吃什么来支持健康老龄化。

Although frozen and canned fruits and vegetables have food labels, fresh varieties often do not.

尽管冷冻和罐装水果和蔬菜有食品标签，但新鲜品种通常没有。

You can find nutrition information for fresh vegetables and fruits on the USDA website .

您可以在美国农业部网站上找到新鲜蔬菜和水果的营养信息。

Or you can call the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food and Nutrition Information Center at 301-504-5414.

或者您可以致电美国农业部食品和营养信息中心：301-504-5414。

The percent Daily Value (% DV) tells how much a nutrient in a serving of the food or beverage contributes to a total daily 2,000-calorie diet.

每日摄入量百分比 (% DV) 表示一份食品或饮料中的营养素对每日 2,000 卡路里饮食总量的贡献量。

Although the average person needs 2,000 calories a day to maintain their weight, individuals may need more or fewer depending on their lifestyle.

虽然一般人每天需要 2,000 卡路里来维持体重，但个人可能需要更多或更少，具体取决于他们的生活方式。

If you are eating fewer calories per day and eat one serving, your % DV will be higher than what you see on the label.

如果您每天摄入的热量较少且只吃一份，您的 % DV 将高于您在标签上看到的值。

Some nutrients on the Nutrition Facts label do not have a % DV, but consumers can still use the number of grams to compare and choose products.

有些营养素的营养成分标签上没有%DV，但消费者仍然可以使用克数来比较和选择产品。

Most older adults exceed the recommended limits for saturated fats, sodium, and added sugars.

大多数老年人的饱和脂肪、钠和添加糖的摄入量都超过了建议的限量。

Compare and choose foods to get less than 100% DV of these each day, making sure to adjust for how many calories are in your diet.

比较并选择每日摄入量低于 100% 的食物，确保根据饮食中的卡路里含量进行调整。

Additionally, many older adults do not get the recommended amounts of dietary fiber, vitamin D, calcium, and potassium.

此外，许多老年人没有摄入推荐量的膳食纤维、维生素 D、钙和钾。

Eating enough foods that contain these nutrients can reduce the risk of developing some diseases and conditions, such as cardiovascular disease , osteoporosis , and high blood pressure .

吃足够的含有这些营养素的食物可以降低患某些疾病和病症的风险，例如心血管疾病、骨质疏松症和高血压。

Compare and choose foods to aim for 100% DV of these nutrients.

比较并选择食物，以实现这些营养素的 100% 每日摄入量。

The % DV information is not calculated with the unique needs of older adults in mind.

每日摄入量百分比信息的计算并未考虑老年人的独特需求。

Read the nutrition label as a whole to determine how a particular food or drink fits into your healthy eating pattern .

阅读整个营养标签，以确定特定食物或饮料如何适合您的健康饮食模式。

If a food has 5% DV or less of a nutrient per serving, it is considered low in that nutrient .

如果某食品每份的某种营养素的每日摄入量为 5% 或更少，则该食品被视为该营养素含量较低。

If it has 20% DV or more of a nutrient per serving, it is considered high in that nutrient.

如果每份的某种营养素的每日摄入量为 20% 或更多，则该营养素的含量被认为很高。

Low or high can be either good or bad — it depends on whether you need more of a nutrient (like dietary fiber) or less (like saturated fat).

低或高可能是好是坏——这取决于您是否需要更多的营养素（如膳食纤维）或更少的营养素（如饱和脂肪）。

The ingredients in packaged food and beverage items are listed separately from (and often below) the Nutrition Facts label.

包装食品和饮料中的成分与营养成分标签分开列出（通常位于营养成分标签下方）。

This information lists each ingredient in the product by its common or usual name, and in descending order by weight.

该信息按通用名称列出了产品中的每种成分，并按重量降序排列。

That is, the ingredient that weighs the most is listed first, and the ingredient that weighs the least is listed last.

也就是说，重量最大的成分列在最前面，重量最轻的成分列在最后。

Be on the lookout for terms that indicate added sugar , such as brown sugar, corn sweetener, corn syrup, dextrose, fructose, and high-fructose corn syrup.

请留意表明添加糖的术语，例如红糖、玉米甜味剂、玉米糖浆、葡萄糖、果糖和高果糖玉米糖浆。

Artificial sweeteners such as sucralose, saccharin, aspartame, and acesulfame should also be consumed in moderation.

人工甜味剂如三氯蔗糖、糖精、阿斯巴甜和安赛蜜也应适量食用。

Sometimes, food and beverage packaging includes terms that may try to convince the consumer the food is healthy.

有时，食品和饮料包装上的术语可能试图让消费者相信食品是健康的。

To help avoid confusion, the FDA sets specific rules for what food manufacturers can call “light,” “low,” “reduced,” “free,” and other terms.

为了避免混淆，FDA 对食品制造商可以使用的“低度”、“低度”、“减少”、“免费”和其他术语制定了具体规则。

This type of labeling may have little to do with how nutritious the food is.

这种类型的标签可能与食物的营养程度关系不大。

Here are some examples and what they mean:

以下是一些示例及其含义：

While these descriptions or terms are regulated by the FDA, others aren’t, so always check the nutrition label to see if the product matches your healthy eating goals.

虽然这些描述或术语受 FDA 监管，但其他描述或术语则不受 FDA 监管，因此请务必检查营养标签，看看该产品是否符合您的健康饮食目标。

If you’re unsure about an ingredient or label description, visit the FDA website to learn more.

如果您不确定成分或标签说明，请访问 FDA 网站以了解更多信息。

USDA MyPlate 703-305-2060 www.myplate.gov

美国农业部 MyPlate 703-305-2060 www.myplate.gov

U.S. Food and Drug Administration 888-463-6332 druginfo@fda.hhs.gov www.fda.gov

美国食品和药物管理局 888-463-6332 druginfo@fda.hhs.gov www.fda.gov

This content is provided by the NIH National Institute on Aging (NIA).

本内容由 NIH 国家老龄化研究所 (NIA) 提供。

NIA scientists and other experts review this content to ensure it is accurate and up to date.

NIA 科学家和其他专家审查此内容以确保其准确且最新。