Parents: The Label Reading Know-How Every Family Needs

Let’s face it, for most time-starved parents, grocery shopping falls into the “I can’t do it fast enough” category. Trouble is, the typical supermarket carries over 45,000 items, according to the Food Marketing Institute—all competing for your time and attention. Here’s the thing: You really can make label reading a whole lot simpler—it’s just a matter of knowing the basics.

Guideline 1: A Serving Is Not a Portion

The serving size is the most important information in the Nutrition Facts panel. In fact, it’s so important that the FDA requires food manufacturers to prominently display it at the top of the panel, making it especially easy to spot on packaged foods.

Why is the serving size so important? It’s because it’s the basis for all the other information in the Nutrition Facts panel. If you overlook it and jump right to scanning information about calories, fat and other nutrients, you’ll likely overestimate or underestimate what your child is actually consuming.

Servings, portions & handfuls

While serving sizes for most foods reflect real-world portions, this is not always the case. Consider potato chips. A serving size 1 ounce (28 grams) whether the bag is jumbo-size or single-serving. In practical terms, one serving is about 15 chips, about a handful. So, if your child’s serving is closer to 30 chips, you’ll need to double the amount of calories, fat, sodium and other nutrients listed in the Nutrition Facts panel to get an accurate measure of what your child is really eating.

How many servings are in your portion?

Here’s a great exercise to visualize the difference between a typical portion and the serving size listed on a packaged food. The next time you offer your child potato chips, place them on your child’s plate and then count them. Really, count them out. Now, check the label to see how close your portion is to the serving size listed in the Nutrition Facts panel. Is it closer to 15 chips (one serving), 30 chips (two servings) or more? For many people, a typical portion is two or more servings.

If you’re curious to dive deeper, take a look at Chapter 12 in our book Eating for A’s. You’ll find eight more super practical guidelines to help you master label reading in no time.

Happy July!

Lorna & Kathleen
Co-authors of Eating for A’s

Reference

Juan W, Ferguson M, Boyer M, Henderson C, Kevala J. Methodology used to modernize the reference amounts customarily consumed/serving size for the nutrition facts label. J Food Compost Anal. 2019;83:103297.

P.S. Need goal tracking forms? You’ll find a full set in Eating for A’s—one for each pre-set monthly goal and extra credit. We call them My Smart Tracker forms. You can call them one of the easiest ways to help your kids reach their full potential in the classroom and beyond.