Table 2: The Low-Down on Food Label Claims
Here are the main label claims used on food packages--and what they mean:
Saturated Fat--
*Saturated fat free: Less than 1/2 gram saturated fat in a serving; levels of trans
fatty acids must be not more than 1 percent of total fat.
**Low saturated fat: 1 gram saturated fat or less in a serving and 15 percent or less
of calories from saturated fat. For a meal or main dish (like a frozen dinner): 1 gram
saturated fat or less in 100 grams of food and less than 10 percent of calories from
saturated fat.
Cholesterol--
*Cholesterol free: Less than 2 milligrams (mg) cholesterol in a serving; saturated fat
content must be 2 grams or less in a serving.
**Low cholesterol: 20 mg cholesterol or less in a serving; saturated fat content must
be 2 grams or less in a serving. For a meal or main dish: 20 mg cholesterol or less in 100
grams of food, with saturated fat content less than 2 grams in 100 grams of food.
Fat--
*Fat free: Less than 1/2 gram fat in a serving.
**Low fat: 3 grams total fat or less in a serving. For a meal or main dish: 3 grams
total fat or less in 100 grams of food and not more than 30 percent calories from fat.
Percent fat free--A food with this claim must also meet the low fat claim.
Calories--
*Calorie free: Less than 5 calories in a serving.
**Low calorie: 40 calories or less in a serving.
Sodium--
*Sodium free: Less than 5 mg sodium in a serving.
**Low sodium: 140 mg sodium or less in a serving. For a meal or main dish: 140 mg
sodium or less in 100 grams of food.
Very low sodium: 35 mg sodium or less in a serving.
*Words that mean the same thing as free: "no," "zero,"
"without," "trivial source of," "negligible source of," and
"dietarily insignificant source of."
**Words that mean the same thing as low: "contains a small amount of" and
"low source of."
Light--A product has been changed to have half the fat or one-third fewer
calories than the regular product; or the sodium in a low calorie, low fat food has been
cut by 50 percent; or a meal or main dish is low fat or low calorie.
"Light" also may be used to describe things like the color or texture of a
food, as long as the label explains this: for example, "light brown sugar" or
"light and fluffy."
Reduced/Less/Lower/Fewer--A food (like a lower-fat hot dog or a lower-sodium
cracker) has at least 25 percent less of something like calories, fat, saturated fat,
cholesterol, or sodium than the regular food or a similar food to which it is compared.
Lean and Extra Lean--Two terms--"lean" and "extra lean"--are
used to describe the fat content of meat, poultry, fish, and shellfish.
Lean--Less than 10 grams fat, 4.5 grams or less of saturated fat, and less than
95 mg cholesterol in a serving.
Extra lean--Less than 5 grams fat, less than 2 grams saturated fat, and less
than 95 mg cholesterol in a serving.
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