A set of standards of the amounts of each nutrient needed to maintain good health. People differ in the daily amounts of nutrients they need; for most nutrients the measured average requirement plus 20% (statistically 2 standard deviations) takes care of the needs of nearly everyone and in the UK this is termed reference nutrient intake (RNI), elsewhere known as recommended daily allowances or intakes (RDA or RDI), population reference intake (PRI), or dietary reference intake (DRI). This figure is used to calculate the needs of large groups of people in institutional or community planning. Obviously some people require less than the average (up to 20% or 2 standard deviations less). This lower level is termed the lower reference nutrient intake, LRNI (also known as the minimum safe intake, MSI, or lower threshold intake LTI). This is an intake at or below which it is unlikely that normal health could be maintained. If the diet of an individual indicates an intake of any nutrient at or below LRNI then detailed investigation of his/her nutritional status would be recommended. For energy intake only a single dietary reference value is used, the average requirement, because there is potential harm (of obesity) from ingesting too much.
Desirable intakes of specific nutrients.
Daily Reference Values (DRVs) are among the Daily Values (DVs) for nutrients established by the Food and Drug Administration. DRVs have been determined for total fat, saturated fat, carbohydrate, protein, fiber, cholesterol, sodium, and potassium. On a food label, the percentage of a nutrient met by a single serving of food is used to describe the nutrient content of that food.