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What's the Label Really Telling You?

Written by Stephanie Young

Friday, 20 January 2006

Have you ever wondered what the difference is between light, reduced fat, and fat free? Before beginning my degree in dietetics I was often mystified by these claims, as I suppose many of you are today. Food packages can hold a wealth of information but simple pictures or health claims could send you toward the check out lane with a food that may not be as healthy as you think.

The Food and Drug Administration has put in place several regulations for manufacturers outlining acceptable health claims. One thing to keep in mind is that these claims are based on the amount of the nutrient PER SERVING. For example if a food package claims to be “fat free” there may be 0.5 grams of fat in one serving of that food, but if your ate four servings of that food that food would no longer be considered fat-free. I will define several common terms found on these packages and demystify some of the claims for the most common assertions.

Popular Terms Found On Food Labels:

Free: This means that a product contains no amount of, or only an insignificant amount of, the particular nutrient. Synonyms for “free” include “without,” “no,” and “zero.”

What the Label Says	What the Label Means
*Calorie Free*	Less than 5 calories per serving
*Fat Free*	Less than 0.5 grams of fat or saturated fat per serving
*Saturated Fat Free*	Less than 0.5 grams of saturated fat and less than 0.5 grams of trans fatty acids
*Sodium Free* *or Salt Free*	Less than 5 mg of sodium per serving
*Cholesterol Free*	Less than 2 mg per serving
*Sugar Free*	Less than 0.5 grams of sugar per serving

Low: You may find this phrase used in varying degrees such as “low” and “very low.” In general, when a product is “low” in a nutrient it means that this food can be eaten frequently – in the amount given on the label – without exceeding dietary guidelines for the nutrient. Other synonyms for “low” may include “little,” “few,” “low source of,” and “contains a small amount of.”

What the Label Says	What the Label Means
*Low calorie*	40 calories or less per serving
*Low Fat*	3 grams of less of total fat
*Low saturated fat*	1 grams of less of saturated fat
*Very Low Sodium*	35 mg of sodium or less (The recommended intake is 2400 mg)
*Low Sodium*	140 mg of sodium or less
*Low cholesterol*	20 mg or less

Reduced: This means that the product contains at least 25 percent less of a nutrient or calories that the regular product. However, just because a product is reduced-fat or reduced-calorie does not mean that it is low-fat or low-calorie.

Light: If something is labeled “light” it could mean two different things. First, ‘light” may mean that the altered food product contains one-third fewer calories or half the fat of the original product. Food can also be referred to as “light” if the food is already a low-fat, low-calorie food and they have reduced the sodium content by 50%.

Less: This means that the food, altered or not, contains 25 percent less of a nutrient or of calories than the reference product.

Lean and Extra Lean: You probably see these claims on meat and poultry items. If an piece of meat is “lean” then it contains less than 10 grams of fat, 4.5 grams or less of saturated fat, and less than 95 mg of cholesterol PER SERVING. If a product is labeled “extra lean” then it has less than 5 grams of fat, less than 2 grams of saturated fat, and less than 95 mg of cholesterol PER SERVING.

High: This can be used if the food contains 20 percent or more of the Daily Value for a particular nutrient.

Good Source: This terms means that one serving of a food contains 10 to 19 percent of the Daily Value of that particular nutrient.

Next week we will explore other, more complicated, claims made on food packages that are becoming more common in 2006.

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