ConsumerLab.com Helps Consumers Make Sense of the FDA's Updated Daily Values (DV) for Vitamins and Minerals

White Plains, New York, July 27, 2016 — Daily Values (DV) for certain vitamins and minerals have been changed by the FDA, as part of the agency's revised rules for nutrient and supplement facts labeling. The changes went into effect on July 26, 2016.

"These new DVs are a huge improvement over the previous DVs set in 1968 and will help consumers get what they really need," said Tod Cooperman, M.D., President of ConsumerLab.com. "They also make it easier for vitamin companies to do the right thing. For example, instead of feeling market pressure to provide 100% of an outdated DV which was often too high, they can now provide what nutrition experts say is the correct daily amount. The only problem is that labels may not reflect these important changes for another two to three years," he added.

In order to help consumers understand the new changes, ConsumerLab.com has published the new DVs on its Recommended Daily Intakes and Upper Limits for Nutrients page, which is freely available to the public.

The revised rules increase, decrease or establish DVs for various vitamins and minerals for adults and children age 4 or older including the following:

• Magnesium has increased from 400 mg to 420 mg
• Manganese has increased from 2 mg to 2.3 mg
• Phosphorus has increased from 1,000 mg to 1,250 mg
• Potassium has increased from 3,500 mg to 4,700 mg
• Calcium has increased from 1,000 mg to 1,300 mg
• Vitamin C has increased from 60 mg to 90 mg
• Vitamin K has increased from 80 mcg to 120 mcg
• Vitamin D has increased from 400 IU (10 mcg) to 800 IU (20 mcg)
• Chloride has decreased from 3,400 mg to 2,300 mg
• Chromium has decreased from 120 mcg to 35 mcg
• Copper has decreased from 2 mg to 0.9 mg
• Molybdenum has decreased from 75 mcg to 45 mcg
• Zinc has decreased from 15 mg to 11 mg
• Thiamin has decreased from 1.5 mg to 1.2 mg
• Riboflavin has decreased from 1.7 mg to 1.3 mg
• Niacin has decreased from 20 mg to 16 mg
• Vitamin B-6 has decreased from 2 mg to 1.7 mg
• Vitamin B-12 has decreased from 6 mcg to 2.4 mcg
• Biotin has decreased from 300 mcg to 30 mcg
• Pantothenic acid has decreased from 10 mg to 5 mg
• A DV for choline has been established the first time, at 550 mg

In addition, DVs were established for infants, children ages 1 to 3 years, and pregnant or lactating women.

Other notable changes include:

• Vitamin A and vitamin C are no longer required to be listed on food labels, although manufacturers can voluntarily do so.
• Vitamin D and potassium are now required to be listed on food labels.
• Amounts of vitamin A, vitamin D and vitamin E are now required to be listed in units of micrograms (mcg) or milligrams (mg) rather than the international units (IU) which consumers may be accustomed to seeing on food and supplement labels. Vitamin A will be listed as mcg of retinol activity equivalents (RAE), vitamin D as mcg, and vitamin E as mg a-tocopherol.
• Folate must be declared in terms of mcg of "dietary folate equivalents" (DFE) rather than mcg. This is important because synthetic forms of folate, such as folic acid, are equivalent to about 1.67 times that of naturally-occurring folate. This means that a product currently labeled to contain 400 mcg of folic acid and 100% of the adult DV, will be relabeled to show 667 mcg DFE of folate and 167% of the DV. (Until labels are updated, consumers may be consuming more synthetic folate than is required and this may put them over the UL if they are also consuming synthetic folate from fortified foods or other supplements.) Folacin" is no longer permitted as a synonym for "folic acid" on nutrition and supplement facts labels.

The FDA initially gave large manufacturers and small manufacturers until July of 2018 and 2019, respectively, to update their labels with the new DVs. [IMPORTANT UPDATE: In September 2017, the FDA extended these deadlines to January 1 of 2020 and 2021, respectively. Until then, the old DVs may still appear.]

Founded in 1999, ConsumerLab.com is a leading provider of consumer information and independent evaluations of products that affect health and nutrition. Membership to ConsumerLab.com is available online and provides immediate access to reviews of more than 1,000 products from over 400 brands. The company is privately held and based in Westchester, New York. It has no ownership from, or interest in, companies that manufacture, distribute, or sell consumer products.



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