# Choline: FDA Daily Value

The FDA Daily Value for Choline is 550 mg for adults and children 4 or more years of age (§ 101.9(c)(8)(iv)). It changes by population group; see the table below.

**URL:** https://bettermenu.live/tools/rda/choline/
**Provider:** BetterMenu (https://bettermenu.live)
**Dataset:** US Nutrition Label Rules v17.0.0 (CFR snapshot: 2026-02-12)
**Type:** RDI (Reference Daily Intake), a fixed target not tied to calories
**Unit:** mg
**Citation:** § 101.9(c)(8)(iv)

## Daily Value by population group

Source: FDA, § 101.9(c)(8)(iv). "Not applicable" means the nutrient is absent from that group's FDA table; "No DV" means it is listed with no established value.

| Population group | Daily Value | Low (5% of DV) | High (20% of DV) |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Adults & children 4+ | 550 mg | 27.5 mg | 110 mg |
| Children 1–3 years | 200 mg | 10 mg | 40 mg |
| Pregnant & lactating | 550 mg | 27.5 mg | 110 mg |
| Infants 0–12 months | 150 mg | 7.5 mg | 30 mg |

## Before 2016

New in 2016. The 2016 label rule added a Daily Value for choline.

Source: 21 CFR 101.9(c)(8)(iv), edition revised as of April 1, 2016. "(iv) The following RDI's and nomenclature are established for the following vitamins and minerals which are essential in human nutrition:" The April 1, 2016 edition of 21 CFR 101.9(c)(8)(iv) lists no choline.

The 2016 rule took effect on July 26, 2016 (81 FR 33742). Labels had to use the new values by January 1, 2020 for manufacturers with $10 million or more in annual food sales, and by January 1, 2021 for smaller ones (83 FR 19619). Values are for adults and children 4 or more years of age (21 CFR 101.9(c)(8)(i)).

- [View the 2016 edition (govinfo.gov)](https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/CFR-2016-title21-vol2/pdf/CFR-2016-title21-vol2-sec101-9.pdf)
- [View the rule, 81 FR 33742 (Federal Register)](https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2016/05/27/2016-11867/food-labeling-revision-of-the-nutrition-and-supplement-facts-labels)

## How %DV is calculated

1. Divide the amount of choline in one serving by its Daily Value (550 mg), and multiply by 100.
2. Round the result with this nutrient's %DV rounding table (§ 101.9(c)(8)(iii)), shown below.
3. 21 CFR 101.9(d)(7)(ii) permits either the actual amount in the serving or the amount declared on the label (itself rounded) as the basis for step 1.
4. FDA reads 5% DV or less as a little and 20% DV or more as a lot.

## Label rounding rules

- Regulation: in mg, to the precision of the Daily Value; more decimals allowed for small amounts; under 2% DV may show 0%
- FDA guidance (nonbinding): nearest 10 mg

### Amount

Source: FDA guidance, "Nutrition and Supplement Facts Labels: Questions and Answers..." (Nov 2018, rev. Dec 2019), Section VI Q1 (nonbinding)

| Amount range (mg) | Declared as |
| --- | --- |
| 0 to <5 | nearest 5 mg |
| ≥5 | nearest 10 mg |

### % Daily Value

Source: FDA, § 101.9(c)(8)(iii)

| %DV range | Rounded to |
| --- | --- |
| 0 to 10% DV | Nearest 2% |
| >10 to 50% DV | Nearest 5% |
| >50% DV | Nearest 10% |

## Related

- HTML page: https://bettermenu.live/tools/rda/choline/
- All FDA Daily Values: https://bettermenu.live/tools/rda.md
- Machine-readable dataset: https://bettermenu.live/tools/rda/data.json