The Nutrition Facts Label and MyPlate Can Help You Make Healthier Food Choices in 2021

SILVER SPRING, Md., Jan. 14, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Thinking about making healthier food choices as part of your New Year's resolutions, but not sure where to start? The newly released Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2020-2025 encourages Americans to make shifts in their food and beverage choices based on personal, cultural and traditional preferences in order to achieve a healthy dietary pattern. The updated Nutrition Facts label and MyPlate can serve as tools to help you set goals for a healthy dietary pattern and maintain them all year long!

Using the Nutrition Facts label to make healthier food choices.
The updated Nutrition Facts label can help you make informed choices that contribute to lifelong healthy eating habits and meet the recommendations from the Dietary Guidelines for Americans. The label provides important nutrition information about packaged food and drinks—from serving size to calories and nutrient information. So, what's new on the label?

• The serving size now appears in larger, bold font and some serving sizes have been updated. Serving sizes have also been updated to better reflect the amount people typically eat and drink.
• Calories are now displayed in larger, bolder font.
• Daily Values have been updated.
• Added sugars, vitamin D, and potassium are now listed on the label. Manufacturers must declare the amount in addition to percent Daily Value for vitamins and minerals.

Here are a few ways you can make the most of the label in the new year.

• Use the Nutrition Facts label to monitor calories and use serving information to help you choose the right portion sizes for you.
• When shopping for groceries, use the label to compare different food items. More often, choose items higher in dietary fiber, vitamin D, calcium, iron, and potassium, and lower in saturated fat, sodium, and added sugars.

Planning your meals while keeping MyPlate in mind.
MyPlate shows the five food groups that are the building blocks of a healthy diet using a familiar image: a place setting for a meal. Here are a few ways you can use MyPlate to stick with your resolutions in 2021.

• Try to include all five food groups (vegetables, fruits, grains, protein foods, and dairy) in your meals. To make sure you're getting the nutrients you need, choose a variety of foods and beverages from each food group.
• Make small changes to your meals so that they are as complete as possible. For example, if you are cooking pasta, add veggies to the sauce. Or if you're craving something sweet, cut up fruit for dessert!

Learn more about how you can use the Nutrition Facts label and MyPlate together to make healthier choices: https://www.fda.gov/food/new-nutrition-facts-label/using-nutrition-facts-label-and-myplate-make-healthier-choices.

For more nutrition education information from FDA, visit www.fda.gov/nutritioneducation.

Contact: Media: 1-301-796-4540 Consumers: 1-888-SAFEFOOD (toll-free)

SOURCE U.S. Food and Drug Administration