The following definitions will help you, when reading nutrition
labels, to understand exactly what is in the foods your are buying for your
family: Free - the product contains no or only a trivial amount of one or
more of the following: fat, saturated fat, cholesterol, sodium, sugars,
and calories.
Calorie free - fewer than 5 calories per serving
Cholesterol free - less than 2 mg of cholesterol &
2 g or less of saturated fat per serving
Fat free - less than 0.5 g per serving
Sodium free - less than 5 mg of sodium per serving
Low - this means a large quantity of the food can be eaten without exceeding
the Recommended Dietary Value for the nutrient
Sugar free - less than 0.5 g per serving
Low calorie - contains 40 calories or less in a serving
Low cholesterol - 20 mg or less and 2 g or less of
saturated fat per serving
Low fat - contains 3 g or less per serving
Low saturated fat - contains 1 g or less per serving
Low sodium - contains 140 mg or less per serving
Very low sodium - contains 35 mg or less per serving
Lean - used in the description of the fat content of
meat, poultry, seafood, and game meats. Less than 10 g fat, 4.5g or less
saturated fat, and less than 95 mg cholesterol per serving for every 100
g of product
Extra Lean - less than 5 g fat, less than 2 g saturated
fat, and less than 95 mg cholesterol per serving for every 100 g of product
Good source - this means that one serving has 10 to
19 percent of the RDA for a particular nutrient.
High - used when food contains 20% or more of the RDA
for a nutrient in one serving
Light - this term can mean two things:
1. a nutritionally altered product has 1/3 fewer calories
or 1/2 the fat of the referenced food
2. the sodium content of a low calorie, low-fat food has
been decreased by 50%
Less - a food, altered or not, contains 25% less
of a nutrient or of calories than the referenced food.
More - a serving contains a nutrient that is at
least 10% of the Daily Value more than the referenced food. This term
also applies to "fortified," "enriched," and "added," when the food has
been altered.
Percent fat free - the product with this claim must
be low-fat or fat-free. It reflects the amount of fat in 100 grams of
the product. For example: 95% fat free would have 5 g fat for every 100
g of product.
Reduced - The nutritionally altered product has 25%
less of a nutrient or of calories than the regular, or referenced, product.
