Percent Daily Value (%DV) Meaning: The 5% and 20% Rule Explained

Daily Value (DV) vs Percent Daily Value (%DV)

According to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Daily Values (DVs) are reference amounts of nutrients—expressed in grams (g), milligrams (mg) or micrograms (mcg)—to consume or not to exceed each day. The Percent Daily Value (%DV) shows how much a nutrient in a single serving of an individual packaged food or dietary supplement contributes to that total daily reference diet.

As the FDA illustrates, if the Daily Value for a nutrient is 300 micrograms (mcg) and a packaged food provides 30 mcg in one serving, the %DV for that nutrient is 10%. Eating one serving supplies 10% of the daily reference amount, leaving the remaining 90% to come from other foods during the day. As noted in the footnote at the bottom of the Nutrition Facts panel, %DVs are anchored to a 2,000-calorie daily reference diet for general nutrition advice, even though personal energy needs vary by age, sex, height, weight and activity level.

• Current FDA Daily Values for nutrients to get more of often: Dietary Fiber (28 g), Calcium (1,300 mg), Iron (18 mg), Potassium (4,700 mg) and Vitamin D (20 mcg).
• Current FDA Daily Values for nutrients to limit more often: Saturated Fat (20 g), Sodium (2,300 mg), Added Sugars (50 g) and Cholesterol (300 mg).
• Other reference Daily Values used when vitamins or minerals are declared: Total Fat (78 g), Total Carbohydrate (275 g), Protein (50 g), Folate/Folic Acid (400 mcg DFE), Magnesium (420 mg), Zinc (11 mg), Vitamin C (90 mg) and Vitamin B12 (2.4 mcg).

Using the FDA 5% low and 20% high rule of thumb

To interpret any %DV number at a glance, the FDA provides a simple two-threshold guide that applies across nutrients on a per-serving basis:

5% DV or less of a nutrient per serving is considered low, whereas 20% DV or more of a nutrient per serving is considered high. Whether "high" or "low" is desirable depends on the nutrient: FDA guidance recommends choosing foods higher in %DV for dietary fiber, vitamin D, calcium, iron and potassium, and lower in %DV for saturated fat, sodium and added sugars.

1. Compare similar products: Check that the serving sizes of both packages are comparable, then compare their %DV columns for fiber, sodium, saturated fat, added sugars and key minerals.
2. Make dietary trade-offs across the day: When a favorite meal component is high (20% DV or more) in sodium or saturated fat, balance it by choosing lower-%DV foods at other meals during the day.

Why trans fat, total sugars and protein usually have no %DV printed

Three lines on a standard Nutrition Facts label frequently have a blank space in the %DV column: Trans Fat, Total Sugars and Protein. According to the FDA, neither trans fat nor total sugars has an established Daily Value reference target—trans fat because intake should be kept as low as possible, and total sugars because the line combines naturally occurring sugars in milk, fruit and vegetables with added sugars (whereas Added Sugars has its own 50 g Daily Value and %DV). For both trans fat and total sugars, you compare products using the gram (g) numbers directly.

Protein has an established FDA reference Daily Value of 50 g, but printing a %DV for protein is generally not required on standard adult labels unless the package makes a protein claim (such as "high in protein") or the product is intended for infants and children under 4 years of age.

Sources & Classical References

1. FDA: Daily Value on the Nutrition and Supplement Facts Labels — Provides the complete reference guide of current FDA Daily Values (DVs) for macronutrients, vitamins and minerals, and explains how DV and %DV relate.
2. FDA: The Lows and Highs of Percent Daily Value on the Nutrition Facts Label — Explains the 5% DV low and 20% DV high general guide, product comparisons, dietary trade-offs, and why trans fat, total sugars and protein generally do not show a %DV.