Checklist

Food label reading checklist

Use this in the shop or at home when you are comparing two packaged foods. Work down the list for each product; the steps take about a minute once you know them. Your ticks are kept in this browser, and you can print the page.

1. Start with the serving
2. Use percent Daily Value
3. Check the ingredient list
4. Look past the front of the pack
5. Supplement labels

Your ticks are saved only in this browser, on this device. Nothing is sent anywhere.

Why this order

The serving size comes first because every other number on the label is per serving. A snack that looks modest can double in every column if the pack holds two servings and you eat it all. Percent Daily Value comes next because it lets you compare products without remembering gram amounts. The ingredient list then tells you what the food is made of, which the numbers alone cannot do.

What the checklist cannot tell you

A label describes one product, not your diet. A food that is high in sodium may be fine as an occasional item, and a food with a short ingredient list is not automatically better for you. Use the label to compare similar products, and use the guides on this site to think about the overall pattern. The percent Daily Value helper does the arithmetic for a serving or several servings.

Go deeper

Where this comes from

The steps follow the US Food and Drug Administration's guidance on how to use the Nutrition Facts label, including the serving size, percent Daily Value and the 5 percent and 20 percent rule, which was read in October 2026. The point about ingredient order and allergen statements reflects standard food labelling rules in the United States. Labelling rules differ in other countries, so check the format printed on your own packs.