What Do The Claims On Food Labels Really Mean?

The revised food labeling law has been in effect for a year. By now, the claims on most food packages in your supermarket should meet the guidelines set forth by the federal government.

As a refresher, here’s a handy list you can clip and save to clarify what the claims on the labels mean.

Reduced, Less or Fewer: Any of these terms may be used when food has been nutritionally changed or reformulated so that it contains at least 25 percent less of a nutrient or at least 25 percent fewer calories than the regular or reference food.

For example, a reduced-fat cheesecake must contain 25 percent less fat than regular cheesecake. Pretzels may claim to have 25 percent less fat than potato chips. However, these terms don’t mean that the food meets low-fat guidelines.

Light or Lite: There is more than one approved definition for these terms. When describing a product that contains at least one-third fewer calories or 50 percent less fat than the reference food, the term “light” or “lite” may be used.

Or, the term may be used if the sodium content of a low-calorie, low-fat product has been reduced by 50 percent. For example, if light is listed on the label of a sour cream product, it may refer to any of these definitions. However, the definition that applies must be specified on the label, such as “light in fat.”

Light may also still be used to describe texture or color if the label explains this reference. For example, light brown sugar is allowed.

Lean and Extra-lean: These may refer only to the fat content of meats, poultry, seafood or game meats.

Lean: less than 10 grams fat, 4 grams saturated fat and 95 milligrams cholesterol per serving and per 100 grams of the product’s weight.

Extra-lean: less than 5 grams fat, 2 grams saturated fat and 95 milligrams cholesterol per serving and per 100 grams of the product’s weight.

Low: Used on foods that may be eaten daily in reasonable amounts without exceeding the dietary guidelines for fat, saturated fat, cholesterol, sodium or calories. The term may be used in these ways:

Low-fat: 3 grams or less per serving.

Low saturated fat: 1 gram or less per serving, and not more than 15 percent of calories from saturated fat.

Low-sodium: 140 milligrams or less per serving.

Very low sodium: 35 milligrams or less per serving.

Low-cholesterol: 20 milligrams or less per serving.

Low-calorie: 40 calories or less per serving.

“Little,” “few” and “low source of” may also be used instead of low.

Free: Any product containing very small or insignificant amounts of one or more of the following - fat, saturated fat, cholesterol, sodium or salt, sugars or calories - can use the term “free.”

For example, calorie-free means fewer than 5 calories per serving. Sugar-free or fat-free both mean the food has less than 0.5 grams of sugar or fat per serving.

“Without,” “no” and “zero” are also approved terms that can be used in place of free.

High: A food containing 20 percent or more of the Daily Value for a desired nutrient per serving - such as vitamin C - can use this claim. “Rich in” or “excellent source” may also be used instead of high.

Good Source: This phrase must be reserved for foods that contain 10 to 19 percent of the Daily Value per serving for a specific nutrient, such as fiber or calcium. For example, some cereals may claim to be a good source of fiber. Alternate terms are “contains” or “provides.”

More: This term may describe any food containing at least 10 percent more of the Daily Value for protein, vitamin, minerals, dietary fiber or potassium than the reference food. For example, an iron-rich bread may claim to contain more iron than the reference bread.

Fresh: Used only to describe a raw or unprocessed food that has never been frozen, heated or preserved. Fresh frozen, frozen fresh and freshly frozen are allowed on foods that have been quickly frozen while fresh.

Certain foods are exempt from this regulation if the food is generally accepted by consumers as fresh. For example, milk is usually pasteurized, yet is considered fresh by consumers. If it is not pasteurized, it must be labeled “raw milk.”

Also, because bread can’t be bought raw, it can be labeled fresh.