21 CFR 101.9(c)(8)(iv) and (c)(9)
Daily Values chart
The Daily Values behind every percentage on a Nutrition Facts panel, transcribed from the current regulation. They live in two tables, and which one a nutrient sits in decides how its percentage is rounded: Daily Reference Values go to whole percents, Reference Daily Intakes go to 2, 5 and 10 percent increments. All four population columns are reproduced below.
The Daily Values used on a standard panel
These are the twelve a general-audience panel needs. The basis column is the one that matters when you compute the percentage — see the two rounding rules.
| Nutrient | Unit | Basis | Adults and children ≥ 4 years | Infants through 12 months | Children 1 through 3 years | Pregnant and lactating women |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total fat | g | DRV | 78 | 30 | 39 | 78 |
| Saturated fat | g | DRV | 20 | N/A | 10 | 20 |
| Cholesterol | mg | DRV | 300 | N/A | 300 | 300 |
| Sodium | mg | DRV | 2,300 | N/A | 1,500 | 2,300 |
| Total carbohydrate | g | DRV | 275 | 95 | 150 | 275 |
| Dietary fiber | g | DRV | 28 | N/A | 14 | 28 |
| Added sugars | g | DRV | 50 | N/A | 25 | 50 |
| Protein | g | DRV | 50 | 11 | 13 | 71 |
| Vitamin D | mcg | RDI | 20 | 10 | 15 | 15 |
| Calcium | mg | RDI | 1,300 | 260 | 700 | 1,300 |
| Iron | mg | RDI | 18 | 11 | 7 | 27 |
| Potassium | mg | RDI | 4,700 | 700 | 3,000 | 5,100 |
The rest of the RDI table
These twenty-three are not declared on a standard panel unless you add them as a nutrient supplement or make a claim about them — 21 CFR 101.9(c)(8)(ii). Small producers meet them when they fortify, and they must then be listed in the order the table gives.
| Nutrient | Unit | Adults and children ≥ 4 years | Infants through 12 months | Children 1 through 3 years | Pregnant and lactating women |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vitamin A | mcg RAE | 900 | 500 | 300 | 1,300 |
| Vitamin C | mg | 90 | 50 | 15 | 120 |
| Vitamin E | mg | 15 | 5 | 6 | 19 |
| Vitamin K | mcg | 120 | 2.5 | 30 | 90 |
| Thiamin | mg | 1.2 | 0.3 | 0.5 | 1.4 |
| Riboflavin | mg | 1.3 | 0.4 | 0.5 | 1.6 |
| Niacin | mg NE | 16 | 4 | 6 | 18 |
| Vitamin B6 | mg | 1.7 | 0.3 | 0.5 | 2 |
| Folate | mcg DFE | 400 | 80 | 150 | 600 |
| Vitamin B12 | mcg | 2.4 | 0.5 | 0.9 | 2.8 |
| Biotin | mcg | 30 | 6 | 8 | 35 |
| Pantothenic acid | mg | 5 | 1.8 | 2 | 7 |
| Phosphorus | mg | 1,250 | 275 | 460 | 1,250 |
| Iodine | mcg | 150 | 130 | 90 | 290 |
| Magnesium | mg | 420 | 75 | 80 | 400 |
| Zinc | mg | 11 | 3 | 3 | 13 |
| Selenium | mcg | 55 | 20 | 20 | 70 |
| Copper | mg | 0.9 | 0.2 | 0.3 | 1.3 |
| Manganese | mg | 2.3 | 0.6 | 1.2 | 2.6 |
| Chromium | mcg | 35 | 5.5 | 11 | 45 |
| Molybdenum | mcg | 45 | 3 | 17 | 50 |
| Chloride | mg | 2,300 | 570 | 1,500 | 2,300 |
| Choline | mg | 550 | 150 | 200 | 550 |
Which population column to use
“For purposes of declaration of percent of Daily Value … foods represented or purported to be specifically for infants through 12 months, children 1 through 3 years, pregnant women, and lactating women shall use the RDIs that are specified for the intended group. … All other foods shall use the RDI for adults and children 4 or more years of age.”
“Represented or purported to be specifically for” is a marketing test, not a demographic one. If your packaging, name or advertising aims the product at toddlers, you are in the children 1–3 column and the panel footnote changes with it. If it is a food that toddlers also eat, you are not.
Frequently asked questions
- What are the FDA Daily Values?
- Two separate tables. Daily Reference Values, in 21 CFR 101.9(c)(9), cover the macronutrients — fat 78 g, saturated fat 20 g, cholesterol 300 mg, sodium 2,300 mg, total carbohydrate 275 g, dietary fibre 28 g, added sugars 50 g and protein 50 g for adults. Reference Daily Intakes, in 21 CFR 101.9(c)(8)(iv), cover vitamins and minerals — vitamin D 20 mcg, calcium 1,300 mg, iron 18 mg and potassium 4,700 mg among 28 entries.
- Which column applies to my product?
- The adults and children 4 or more years column, unless the product is represented or purported to be specifically for one of the other groups. 21 CFR 101.9(c)(8)(i) is explicit: 'All other foods shall use the RDI for adults and children 4 or more years of age.' A cookie that children happen to eat is not a food for children 1 through 3.
- Why is the sodium Daily Value 2,300 mg and not 2,400 mg?
- The 2016 final rule lowered it. The pre-2016 DRV was 2,400 mg; the current 21 CFR 101.9(c)(9) table gives 2,300 mg for adults and children 4 or more years, and 1,500 mg for children 1 through 3. Labels still circulating with 2,400 mg behind their percentages predate the rule.
- What changed in the 2016 rule?
- Vitamins A and C stopped being mandatory and vitamin D and potassium took their place. Added sugars gained its own Daily Value of 50 g. Fat rose from 65 g to 78 g, carbohydrate from 300 g to 275 g, fibre from 25 g to 28 g, sodium fell from 2,400 mg to 2,300 mg, calcium rose from 1,000 mg to 1,300 mg and vitamin D from 10 mcg to 20 mcg. Vitamin D moved from International Units to micrograms.
- Why is there no Daily Value for total sugars?
- Because none has been established. Added sugars has one — 50 g, based on 10 percent of a 2,000 calorie reference intake — but total sugars includes naturally occurring sugars in fruit, vegetables and dairy, and FDA did not set a reference for that. Its % Daily Value column on the panel is blank, and any tool that fills it in is inventing a number.
Keep going
- FDA rounding rulesEvery rounding increment in 21 CFR 101.9, quoted, with worked examples and an interactive check.
- serving size referenceAll 146 reference amounts customarily consumed from 21 CFR 101.12(b), the table that decides your serving size.
- nutrition facts label generatorBuild the panel from a recipe: USDA nutrient data, 21 CFR 101.9 rounding, six formats, PNG, SVG and PDF.
- nutrition facts generatorGenerate the Nutrition Facts panel and check it against every declaration rule in 21 CFR 101.9(c).