U.S. Nutrition Label Changes


Why does the Nutrition Facts Panel look different?

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) updated food labels to provide more information you can use to make healthy eating choices. All food products in the U.S. will have the new label by early 2021.

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What are the key changes?  

Updated serving sizes 
The US FDA bases serving sizes on the amount that most Americans tend to eat at one time.
New research led the FDA to adjust serving sizes for some foods. For products including cereal, the serving size got a little larger.

The serving size and weight are not a recommendation; they reflect how much of the food a person typically eats. 

Larger calories label
To make it easier for people to make informed nutrition choices, the new label includes a larger font size on “Calories”, “Servings per Container” and “Serving Size”. This helps people be mindful of their caloric intake and their amount of food consumed.

“Calories from fat” is being removed because new research shows that the type of fat you consume is more important than the amount. Total Fat, Saturated Fat and Trans Fat are all still listed. 


Updated % of daily values
As part of FDA’s updates to the nutrition label, daily values for nutrients like sodium, dietary fiber and vitamin D are being updated based on newer scientific evidence. The % Daily Value helps you understand nutrition information in the context of a total daily diet.


Inclusion of added sugars
Sugars occur naturally in many foods, such as milk. They are also added to foods for flavor, texture and functional purposes. For the first time, the new U.S. food label lists Added Sugars, not just Total Sugars. The U.S. Dietary Guidelines recommend that most people reduce added sugars in their diet. The Daily Value for Added Sugars is included to help people understand the food’s contribution to their total daily consumption of added sugars. 


Updated vitamins and minerals of need
Food labels must include the actual amount, in addition to the Daily Value, of several vitamins and minerals that FDA has determined to be of importance to public health: Vitamin D, Calcium, Iron and Potassium. Vitamins A and C are no longer required to be listed. They can be included voluntarily, as can other vitamins and minerals.

For General Mills products, where Vitamins A or C are present in a significant amount or we fortify a product with them, the amount is listed. 


More understandable labels for package sizes
Food package size can affect how much you eat. For packages that are between one and two servings, such as a 15-ounce can of soup, the label will now count the entire container as one serving because people typically consume it in one sitting.

For other packages that contain between two and three servings, new “dual column” labels will provide nutritional information per serving and per container.



At General Mills we are committed to helping you understand what's in your food. That's why we're putting more information in more places. Get answers about our products, our sustainability work, and anything else you'd like to know about our food. Or ask us a question.
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[1] U.S. Food and Drug Administration. “Changes to the Nutrition Facts Label”.
[1] U.S. Food and Drug Administration. “Final Rules to Update the Nutrition Facts Panel”.