recommended daily allowances (RDA)

Definition

Pre-1995 US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) standards used by the US (and those of several other countries) food manufacturers in declaring nutritional values of the components of the processed foods on the package label. These were based on the year 1989 recommendations (called recommended dietary allowances) of National Research Council of the US National Academy of Sciences on eight mandatory and 12 optional food components. Replaced in 1995 by percent daily values (DV) for 10 mandatory and 22 optional food components now listed on food-product labels. See also food label.