T he great news is getting enough iron for everyone in your family can be easy. Your WIC food package can help you and your family eat foods that have iron. WIC foods are a good source of iron. One way that you can see the amount of iron that you are eating is through a food label. The food label is also called a nutrition facts label. Not all foods have them, but most packaged foods do. 

Often, foods that have a nutrition facts label have had iron added to them. This process is called fortification. 

Fortification is commonly found in grains, like bread, crackers, and cereal. Some foods will have iron in them naturally. This is true of some foods with nutrition facts labels like canned tuna fish, frozen meat, and frozen vegetables. 

Most fresh vegetables, fruit, and some meats will not have a nutrition label. Though you cannot see how much iron is in them, it is important to eat them as a part of a healthy eating pattern. 

Meat and many types of vegetables are good sources of iron.

Let's look at how you can identify iron on a nutrition facts food label

Step 1: Choose a nutrition facts label to look at. You can find one packaged food in your home or at the store to look at.
Step 2: There is a section at the bottom for vitamins and minerals. The nutrition facts label shows the amount of different nutrients in one serving. Once you have found this section, look for “Iron.”
Step 3: Look at the amount of iron. This will be listed milligrams or mg on the left side. This is just a small unit of measurement. On the right side will be a percentage. This percentage is out of 100% of the iron that you need for the day. 

Here is an example of a nutrition facts label with iron

In this food, there is 45% of the daily recommended amount of iron in one serving. The food in this example is a good source of iron.

1. When the percentage is 5% or less, this is not a good source of iron.

2. When the percentage is 20% or more, this is a good source of iron.

So is that 45% a good thing? 
Let’s look more closely at the 45% of the daily recommended amount or Daily Value. Iron has many different recommendations depending on a person’s age and gender. People who are pregnant or menstruating also have unique needs. 

This percent may not always be accurate for you or other members of your family. It is important to know what your family’s iron needs are.

Recommendation

Learn iron recommendations for each person in your family.

Can I get too much iron?
It is very rare to get too much iron from food. However, you may get too much iron if you are taking an iron supplement that is not needed. Speak to your or your child’s health care provider before starting an iron supplement.

Caution

Be careful to keep all dietary supplements out of reach of children. A child can be poisoned with only a few adult iron pills. Call poison control at (800) 222-1222 directly if you believe someone has been poisoned.