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Food labeling reference tables
For people 4 years or older, eating 20,000 Calories per day:
| Total Fat | 65 g |
| saturated fatty acids | 20 g |
| Cholesterol | 300 mg |
| Sodium | 2400 mg |
| Potassium | 4700 mg |
| Total carbohydrate | 300 g |
| Fiber | 25 g |
| Protein | 50 g |
For vitamins and minerals, the RDIs are given in the following table, along with the more recent RDAs of the Dietary Reference Intakes (maximized over sex and age groups):[2]
| Nutrient | RDI | highest RDA of DRI |
|---|---|---|
| Vitamin A | 5000 IU | 3000 IU |
| Vitamin C | 60 mg | 90 mg |
| Calcium | 1000 mg | 1300 mg |
| Iron | 18 mg | 18 mg |
| Vitamin D | 400 IU | 600 IU |
| Vitamin E | 30 IU | 15 mg (33 IU of synthetic) |
| Vitamin K | 80 μg | 120 μg |
| Thiamin | 1.5 mg | 1.2 mg |
| Riboflavin | 1.7 mg | 1.3 mg |
| Niacin | 20 mg | 16 mg |
| Vitamin B6 | 2 mg | 1.7 mg |
| Folate | 400 μg | 400 μg |
| Vitamin B12 | 6 μg | 2.4 μg |
| Biotin | 300 μg | 30 μg |
| Pantothenic acid | 10 mg | 5 mg |
| Phosphorus | 1000 mg | 1250 mg |
| Iodine | 150 μg | 150 μg |
| Magnesium | 400 mg | 420 mg |
| Zinc | 15 mg | 11 mg |
| Selenium | 70 μg | 55 μg |
| Copper | 2 mg | 900 μg |
| Manganese | 2 mg | 2.3 mg |
| Chromium | 120 μg | 35 μg |
| Molybdenum | 75 μg | 45 μg |
| Chloride | 3400 mg | 2300 mg |
History
The RDA was developed during World War II by Lydia J. Roberts, Hazel K. Stiebeling and Helen S. Mitchell, all part of a committee established by the U.S. National Academy of Sciences in order 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. 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 civilian69s 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 the early 1950s, USDA nutritionists made a new set of guidelines that also included the number of servings of each food group in order to make it easier for people to receive their RDAs of each nutrient.
In 1997 at the suggestion of the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy RDA became one part of a broader set of dietary guidelines called the Dietary Reference Intake used by both the United States and Canada.
See also
- Canada's Food Guide
- Dietary mineral
- Essential amino acid
- Essential fatty acid
- Essential nutrient
- Food guide pyramid
- Nutrient
- Vitamin
External links
- USDA RDA chart (PDF file)
- USDA Reference Daily Intakes
- Article comparing recommended amounts of vitamins and minerals in different countries from the European Union (PDF file)
- Differences in RDA set by medical authorities in the UK, the European Union and the USA.
References
Nestle, Marion. "Food Politics." Berkeley: University of California Press, 2002.
