I agree with you 100% in terms of the food label. It is confusing. It deals with micronutrients--the vitamins, minerals, etc.
What we know now about diet and its relationship with chronic disease is that what matters more than concerning ourselves entirely with ensuring that we get enough of our micronutrients is the fact that there are some foods that are healthier to eat than others--whole grains versus refined grains, fish versus meat. The World Health Organization put forth a technical report on this. I believe it's technical report 619, but I might be wrong with the number. I could certainly get it for you.
That report states that we need to be focusing on simpler messages that say such things as minimize red meat; minimize white flour, white rice, sugar, soft drinks, sweets, etc. That's exactly what is done in the healthy eating pyramid. That way you don't need a degree in dietetics to go to the supermarket. You don't need to memorize what is going to be become, if it's released, an eight-page food guide.
When my dietician and I met with Health Canada, we were told by Health Canada that the foods we chose in creating our test diets were wrong. It was a dietician who was choosing these foods. It was apparently wrong to choose ancient grains. That wasn't supposed to happen. We chose things like quinoa. We were told that it was wrong to choose avocados. We were told that it was wrong to choose walnuts. These were not what was expected to be part of this food guide. It needs to be simpler. It needs to be something people can remember and not just relegate to something they remember seeing. It needs to have 10 to 15 distinct, unambiguous messages that will help protect their health and minimize the risk of chronic disease.