By Priscilla George
High in protein! Good source of fiber! Rich in omega-3s! These are terms you will have seen on a variety of foods from nutrition bars to cereal to frozen meals. But what does it mean to be "a good source of" or "high in". Who decides how much of and what is good for you? Well, let's talk about it. The Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) is the registry of all regulations for the federal departments in the United States. Title 21 of the CFR is concerned with all things food and drugs and is, therefore, the rulebook that any company or commercial entity dealing with food or drugs must follow and is enforced by the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
Figure: Sections of the nutrition label based on FDA guidelines. From: https://www.fda.gov/food/labelingnutrition/ucm114155.htm
Every aspect of how your food packaging looks from the way the nutrition facts are presented to the details it contains to where on the package the information gets placed are all in the 21 CFR. This includes whether a food product can claim that it is high in a certain nutrient. As defined by the 21 CFR, "a food that claims to be high or rich in or an excellent source of a nutrient needs to meet 20 percent or more of the RDI or DRV per RACC and the label clearly identifies the food that is the subject of the claim." Let us unpack that statement. A Reference Daily Intake (RDI) is the reference value for micronutrients such as vitamins and minerals that are required in small quantities from the diet. A Daily Reference Value (DRV) measures the macronutrients consumed through diet and includes carbohydrates, added sugars, cholesterol, fat, fiber, saturated fatty acids, protein and sodium. A Reference Amount Customarily Consumed (RACC) is one serving size of a product based on eating habits of consumers and is displayed in grams and ounces on the nutrition label. The RDI and DRV are displayed together as Daily Value (DV) on the nutrition label with each ingredient contributing to a percentage of the daily requirement of the nutrients. In addition to meeting the requirements for % DV and RACC, the nutrition label must clearly mention the food in question making the claim. Similarly, "a food that claims to be a good source or contains or provides a certain nutrient, needs to meet 10 to 19 percent of the RDI and DRV per RACC". It's like a college student trying to get in all their electives and core courses required to graduate. You miss one, you do not get the piece of paper that says you are qualified! In the same way, food products require these attributes that will determine whether they are what they claim to be. For example, protein requirement for adult males and females averages 51 grams per day and, high protein bars such as thinkThin® High Protein bars provide 13 grams of protein which accounts for 24 % of the daily requirement of protein based on a 2000 calorie diet! Similarly, total fiber requirement for adult males and females averages 28.5 grams per day and, Quaker Select Starts® High Fiber Instant Oatmeal provides 10 grams of fiber which accounts for 40% of the daily value needed which is in compliance with its claims.
Now, how would you, the consumer, calculate this? Well, all you need to know is the daily requirement of your nutrients and some simple math. Take protein for example. We now know that the average adult protein requirement is 51 grams. Consider a nutrition bar that claims to be “rich in” protein and you turn over the nutrition label and in the section for proteins, it displays 10 grams. All you have to do is take the 10 g (from the nutrition bar), divide it by 51 g (daily requirement) to get the percentage of protein provided by the nutrition bar. On calculating that, you find that is value is 19% which is less that the 20 % claim for “rich in” products showing that the nutrition bar is in fact not what it claims to be!
So now that we have defined what these terms mean, let us talk about how they've been established to be what they are and why they are important. DRVs are based on the reference intake of 2000 calories for adults and children aged 4 years and older, and for pregnant and lactating women and on the reference intake of 1000 calories for children aged 1-3 years. RDIs are based on the dietary reference intake recommendations for adults and children over 4 years of age and those for infants through 12 months of age. The % Daily Value tells consumers how much the nutrients in one serving of food contribute to their total daily diet. It also allows consumers to compare the nutritional values of various foods such as the calories provided per serving, protein and fat provided, etc.
You are now equipped with knowledge on how foods are labeled and that, yes, a lot of thought goes into how it looks and the information it conveys. The FDA holds companies accountable for the claims they make by implementing rules such as these. So, the next time you look at a food product that claims to be "rich in" something, turn it over and read the nutrition label, do a little math and see if it is what it claims to be.