The reason for using percentages is because they’re much easier to read at a glance compared to amounts like milligrams.
In other words, if a serving of food contains a DV of 10% vitamin C, that’s 10% of the vitamin C most adults need for the day, according to the FDA — your goal should be to get 100% or more[ *]. The reason for using percentages is because they’re much easier to read at a glance compared to amounts like milligrams. Some labels show both, but it’s simpler to assess using the percentage figure.