The Reference Daily Intake (RDI) used in nutrition labeling on food and dietary supplement products in the U.S. and Canada is the daily intake level of a
nutrient
A nutrient is a substance used by an organism to survive, grow, and reproduce. The requirement for dietary nutrient intake applies to animals, plants, fungi, and protists. Nutrients can be incorporated into cells for metabolic purposes or excret ...
that is considered to be sufficient to meet the
requirements
In product development and process optimization, a requirement is a singular documented physical or functional need that a particular design, product or process aims to satisfy. It is commonly used in a formal sense in engineering design, includi ...
of 97–98% of healthy individuals in every
demographic
Demography () is the statistical study of populations, especially human beings.
Demographic analysis examines and measures the dimensions and dynamics of populations; it can cover whole societies or groups defined by criteria such as edu ...
in the United States. While developed for the
US population
The United States had an official estimated resident population of 333,287,557 on July 1, 2022, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. This figure includes the 50 states and the District of Columbia but excludes the population of five unincorpor ...
, it has been adopted by other countries, though not universally.
The RDI is used to determine the Daily Value (DV) of foods, which is printed on
nutrition facts label
The nutrition facts label (also known as the nutrition information panel, and other slight variations) is a label required on most packaged food in many countries, showing what nutrients and other ingredients (to limit and get enough of) are in t ...
s (as % DV) in the United States and Canada, and is regulated by the
Food and Drug Administration
The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA or US FDA) is a List of United States federal agencies, federal agency of the United States Department of Health and Human Services, Department of Health and Human Services. The FDA is respon ...
(FDA) and by
Health Canada
Health Canada (HC; french: Santé Canada, SC)Health Canada is the applied title under the Federal Identity Program; the legal title is Department of Health (). is the Structure of the Canadian federal government#Departments, with subsidiary unit ...
respectively. The labels "high", "rich in", or "excellent source of" may be used for a food if it contains 20% or more of the RDI. The labels "good source", "contains", or "provides" may be used on a food if it contains between 10% and 20% of the RDI.
The Recommended Dietary Allowances (RDAs) were a set of nutrition recommendations that evolved into both the
Dietary Reference Intake
The Dietary Reference Intake (DRI) is a system of nutrition recommendations from the National Academy of Medicine (NAM) of the National Academies (United States). It was introduced in 1997 in order to broaden the existing guidelines known as Reco ...
(DRI) system of nutrition recommendations (which still defines RDA values) and the RDIs used for food labeling. The first regulations governing U.S. nutrition labels specified a % U.S. RDA declaration based on the current RDA values, which had been published in 1968. Later, the % U.S. RDA was renamed the %DV and the RDA values that the %DVs were based on became the RDIs.
The RDAs (and later the RDA values within the DRI) were regularly revised to reflect the latest scientific information, but although the nutrition labeling regulations were occasionally updated, the existing RDI values were not changed, so that until 2016, many of the DVs used on nutrition facts labels were still based on the outdated RDAs from 1968. In 2016, the Food and Drug Administration published changes to the regulations including updated RDIs and DVs based primarily on the RDAs in the current DRI.
Food labeling reference tables
The reference dietary intake (RDI) gives numbers based on gender and age. The Daily Value (DV) is put on the labels of food products and is meant for the general population.
Daily Values
The FDA issued a final rule on changes to the facts panel on May 27, 2016.
[ The new values were published in the ''Federal Register''.] The original deadline to be in compliance was July 28, 2018, but on May 4, 2018, the FDA released a final rule that extended the deadline to January 1, 2020, for manufacturers with $10 million or more in annual food sales, and by January 1, 2021, for manufacturers with less than $10 million in annual food sales.[ ][ ][ ] During the first six months following the January 1, 2020 compliance date, the FDA worked cooperatively with manufacturers to meet the new Nutrition Facts label requirements, and did not focus on enforcement actions regarding these requirements during that time. Due to lengthy shelf-life on certain food items, products containing old or new facts panel content may be on market shelves at the same time.
The following table lists the old and new DVs based on a caloric intake of 2000 kcal Cal or CAL may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
* ''Cal'' (novel), a 1983 novel by Bernard MacLaverty
* "Cal" (short story), a science fiction short story by Isaac Asimov
* ''Cal'' (1984 film), an Irish drama starring John Lynch and Helen Mir ...
(8400 k J), for adults and children four or more years of age.
Dietary Reference Intake
For vitamins and minerals, the old RDIs and new RDIs (old and new adult 100% Daily Values) are given in the following tables.
Vitamins and choline
Minerals
History
The RDI is derived from the RDAs, which were first developed during World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
by Lydia J. Roberts
Lydia Jane Roberts (1879–1965) was a pioneering nutritionist in childhood nutrition, especially in creating government nutrition standards like the Recommended Dietary Allowances (RDA) of minerals and vitamins. She studied and taught at the Univ ...
, Hazel Stiebeling
Hazel Katherine Stiebeling (1896–1989) was an American nutritionist who pioneered the development of USDA programs for nutrition including USDA daily dietary allowances of vitamins and minerals.
Early life
Stiebeling was born in Haskins, Ohio ...
and Helen S. Mitchell
Helen Swift Mitchell (September 21, 1895 - December 12, 1984) was an American biochemist and nutritionist. She was the research director at the Battle Creek Sanitarium, and taught courses in nutrition at Battle Creek College and University of Ma ...
, all part of a committee established by the U.S. National Academy of Sciences
The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) is a United States nonprofit, non-governmental organization. NAS is part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, along with the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) and the Nati ...
to investigate issues of nutrition that might "affect national defense" (Nestle, 35). The committee was renamed the Food and Nutrition Board in 1941, after which they began to deliberate on a set of recommendations of a standard daily allowance for each type of nutrient
A nutrient is a substance used by an organism to survive, grow, and reproduce. The requirement for dietary nutrient intake applies to animals, plants, fungi, and protists. Nutrients can be incorporated into cells for metabolic purposes or excret ...
. The standards would be used for nutrition recommendations for the armed forces, for civilians, and for overseas population who might need food relief. Roberts, Stiebeling, and Mitchell surveyed all available data, created a tentative set of allowances for "energy and eight nutrients", and submitted them to experts for review (Nestle, 35). The final set of guidelines, called RDAs for Recommended Dietary Allowances, were accepted in 1941. The allowances were meant to provide superior nutrition for civilians and military personnel, so they included a "margin of safety". Because of food rationing during the war, the food guides created by government agencies to direct citizens' nutritional intake also took food availability into account.
The Food and Nutrition Board subsequently revised the RDAs every five to ten years. In 1973, the FDA introduced regulations to specify the format of nutrition labels when present, although the inclusion of such labels was largely voluntary, only being required if nutrition claims were made or if nutritional supplements were added to the food. The nutrition labels were to include percent U.S. RDA based on the 1968 RDAs in effect at the time. The RDAs continued to be updated (in 1974, 1980 and 1989) but the values specified for nutrition labeling remained unchanged.
In 1993 the FDA published new regulations mandating the inclusion of a nutrition facts label
The nutrition facts label (also known as the nutrition information panel, and other slight variations) is a label required on most packaged food in many countries, showing what nutrients and other ingredients (to limit and get enough of) are in t ...
on most packaged foods. Originally the FDA had proposed replacing the percent U.S. RDAs with percent daily values based on the 1989 RDAs but the Dietary Supplement Act of 1992 prevented it from doing so. Instead it introduced the RDI to be the basis of the new daily values. The RDI consisted of the existing U.S. RDA values (still based on the 1968 RDAs as the FDA was not allowed to change them at the time) and new values for additional nutrients not included in the 1968 RDAs.
In 1997, at the suggestion of the Institute of Medicine
The National Academy of Medicine (NAM), formerly called the Institute of Medicine (IoM) until 2015, is an American nonprofit, non-governmental organization. The National Academy of Medicine is a part of the National Academies of Sciences, E ...
of the National Academy, the RDAs became one part of a broader set of dietary guidelines called the Dietary Reference Intake
The Dietary Reference Intake (DRI) is a system of nutrition recommendations from the National Academy of Medicine (NAM) of the National Academies (United States). It was introduced in 1997 in order to broaden the existing guidelines known as Reco ...
used by both the United States and Canada. As part of the DRI, the RDAs continued to be updated.
On May 27, 2016, the FDA updated the regulations to change the RDI and Daily Values to reflect current scientific information.[ Until this time, the Daily Values were still largely based on the 1968 RDAs. The new regulations make several other changes to the nutrition facts label to facilitate consumer understanding of the calorie and nutrient contents of their foods, emphasizing nutrients of current concern, such as ]vitamin D
Vitamin D is a group of fat-soluble secosteroids responsible for increasing intestinal absorption of calcium, magnesium, and phosphate, and many other biological effects. In humans, the most important compounds in this group are vitamin D3 (c ...
and potassium
Potassium is the chemical element with the symbol K (from Neo-Latin ''kalium'') and atomic number19. Potassium is a silvery-white metal that is soft enough to be cut with a knife with little force. Potassium metal reacts rapidly with atmosphe ...
.[ The revision to the regulations came into effect on 26 July 2016 and initially stipulated that larger manufacturers must comply within two years while smaller manufacturers had an additional year.] On May 4, 2018, the FDA released a final rule that extended the deadline to January 1, 2020, for large companies and to January 1, 2021, for small companies. During the first six months following the January 1, 2020 compliance date, the FDA worked cooperatively with manufacturers to meet the new Nutrition Facts label requirements, and did not focus on enforcement actions regarding these requirements during that time. In the interim, products containing old or new facts panel content may be on market shelves at the same time.
Sodium and potassium
In 2010, the U.S. Institute of Medicine
The National Academy of Medicine (NAM), formerly called the Institute of Medicine (IoM) until 2015, is an American nonprofit, non-governmental organization. The National Academy of Medicine is a part of the National Academies of Sciences, E ...
determined that the government should establish new consumption standards for salt to reduce the amount of sodium
Sodium is a chemical element with the symbol Na (from Latin ''natrium'') and atomic number 11. It is a soft, silvery-white, highly reactive metal. Sodium is an alkali metal, being in group 1 of the periodic table. Its only stable iso ...
in the typical American diet below levels associated with higher risk of several cardiovascular diseases
Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is a class of diseases that involve the heart or blood vessels. CVD includes coronary artery diseases (CAD) such as angina and myocardial infarction (commonly known as a heart attack). Other CVDs include stroke, ...
, yet maintain consumer preferences for salt-flavored food. In 1999, the average American adult ingested nearly 4,000 mg of sodium daily, far above the National Research Council recommendation that the general U.S. population consume no more than 2,400 mg of sodium (or 6 grams of salt) per day. For instance, the National Research Council National Research Council may refer to:
* National Research Council (Canada), sponsoring research and development
* National Research Council (Italy), scientific and technological research, Rome
* National Research Council (United States), part of ...
found that 500 milligrams of sodium per day (approximately 1,250 milligrams of table salt) is a safe minimum level. In the United Kingdom, the daily allowance for salt is 6 g (approximately 2.5 teaspoons, about the upper limit in the U.S.), an amount considered "too high".
The Institute of Medicine advisory stated (daily intake basis): "Americans consume more than 3,400 milligrams of sodium – the amount in about 1.5 teaspoons of salt (8.7 g) – each day. The recommended maximum daily intake of sodium – the amount above which health problems appear – is 2,300 milligrams per day for adults, about 1 teaspoon of salt (5.9 g). The recommended adequate intake of sodium is 1,500 milligrams (3.9 g salt) per day, and people over 50 need even less."[
The daily value for potassium, 4,700 mg per day, was based on a small study of men who were given 14.6 g of sodium chloride per day and treated with potassium supplements until the frequency of salt sensitivity was reduced to 20 percent.]
See also
*Canada's Food Guide
''Canada's Food Guide'' (french: Guide alimentaire canadien) is a List of nutrition guides, nutrition guide produced by Health Canada. In 2007, it was reported to be the second most requested Canadian government publication, behind the Income tax ...
*Dietary mineral
In the context of nutrition, a mineral is a chemical element required as an essential nutrient by organisms to perform functions necessary for life. However, the four major structural elements in the human body by weight (oxygen, hydrogen, carbon ...
*
*
*Essential amino acid
An essential amino acid, or indispensable amino acid, is an amino acid that cannot be synthesized from scratch by the organism fast enough to supply its demand, and must therefore come from the diet. Of the 21 amino acids common to all life form ...
*Essential fatty acid
Essential fatty acids, or EFAs, are fatty acids that humans and other animals must ingest because the body requires them for good health but cannot synthesize them.
Only two fatty acids are known to be essential for humans: alpha-linolenic ac ...
*Essential nutrient
A nutrient is a substance used by an organism to survive, grow, and reproduce. The requirement for dietary nutrient intake applies to animals, plants, fungi, and protists. Nutrients can be incorporated into cells for metabolic purposes or excret ...
*
*Healthy diet
A healthy diet is a diet that maintains or improves overall health. A healthy diet provides the body with essential nutrition: fluid, macronutrients such as protein, micronutrients such as vitamins, and adequate fibre and food energy.
A healthy ...
*
*Vitamins
A vitamin is an organic molecule (or a set of molecules closely related chemically, i.e. vitamers) that is an essential micronutrient that an organism needs in small quantities for the proper functioning of its metabolism. Essential nutrien ...
Notes
References
*{{cite book , last = Nestle , first = Marion , title = Food Politics: How the Food Industry Influences Nutrition and Health , publisher = University of California Press , location = Berkeley , year = 2002 , isbn = 9780520224650 , url-access = registration , url = https://archive.org/details/foodpolitics00mari
External links
Daily_Values,_US_National_Institutes_of_Health
.html" ;"title="National Institutes of Health">Daily Values, US National Institutes of Health
">National Institutes of Health">Daily Values, US National Institutes of Health
Dietary minerals
Nutrition
Vitamins