# Folate: FDA Daily Value

The FDA Daily Value for Folate is 400 mcg DFE 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/folate/
**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:** mcg_dfe
**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+ | 400 mcg DFE | 20 mcg DFE | 80 mcg DFE |
| Children 1–3 years | 150 mcg DFE | 7.5 mcg DFE | 30 mcg DFE |
| Pregnant & lactating | 600 mcg DFE | 30 mcg DFE | 120 mcg DFE |
| Infants 0–12 months | 80 mcg DFE | 4 mcg DFE | 16 mcg DFE |

## Before 2016

For adults and children 4+, labels until 2020/2021 showed 400 mcg. Now 400 mcg DFE.

Same number, new unit. DFE counts folic acid differently from folate that occurs naturally in food: 1 mcg DFE = 1 mcg of naturally occurring folate = 0.6 mcg of folic acid.

Source: 21 CFR 101.9(c)(8)(iv), edition revised as of April 1, 2016. "Folate, 400 micrograms"

[Conversion: current 21 CFR 101.9(c)(8)(iv), footnote 7](https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-21/part-101/section-101.9#p-101.9(c)(8)(iv)).

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 is folate declared on a Nutrition Facts label?

When folic acid is added to a food, or a claim is made about it, the label declares folate in mcg DFE and gives the folic acid amount, in mcg, in parentheses. (21 CFR 101.9(c)(8)(vii)) When folate is declared and a serving has less than 2 percent of its Reference Daily Intake (RDI), the label does not have to state the amount. (21 CFR 101.9(c)(8)(iii)) At that level it may instead show zero, or an asterisk that points to the line “Contains less than 2 percent of the Daily Value of this (these) nutrient (nutrients)”. (21 CFR 101.9(c)(8)(iii))

## How %DV is calculated

1. Divide the amount of folate in one serving by its Daily Value (400 mcg DFE), 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 mcg DFE, to the precision of the Daily Value; more decimals allowed for small amounts; under 2% DV may show 0%
- FDA guidance (nonbinding): nearest 5 mcg DFE

### Amount

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

| Amount range (mcg_dfe) | Declared as |
| --- | --- |
| 0 to <2.5 | nearest 1 mcg DFE |
| ≥2.5 | nearest 5 mcg DFE |

### % 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/folate/
- All FDA Daily Values: https://bettermenu.live/tools/rda.md
- Machine-readable dataset: https://bettermenu.live/tools/rda/data.json