Ever wondered what nutrition claims on food packaging mean? Here’s a quick rundown of the most common claims:
- Low Calorie/Diet – Indicates that a product is low in fat or sugar, & is usually artificially sweetened.
-
No Added Sugar – means No sugar has been added to the product, but it may contain other sugars e.g. lactose (milk sugar) and fructose (fruit sugar).
-
Cholesterol Free – Cholesterol is only found in animal foods. Plant foods are often labelled cholesterol free which is misleading. Remember that “cholesterol free” does not necessarily mean low fat.
-
“Lite” or “Light” – is a description of products that are low in fat, salt or sugar. But, this may also refer to the colour or flavour.
-
Reduced Fat – The total fat content of the food is reduced by 25% in comparison to the regular product. Note that the food may be reduced in fat, but not low in fat.
-
Low Fat – means that a food contains no more than 3g fat per 100g (1.5g fat per 100g for liquid).
-
Fat Free – Foods that contain no more than 0.15g fat per 100g. Keep an eye out for foods with claims such as 90% fat free – these are still 10% fat.
-
No Added Salt – No salt is added to the product. But, it may still contain some natural salt.
-
Salt Reduced – The salt content of the product is reduced by 25% compared to the regular product. It could still be high in salt.
Confused about any other claims or information on the packaging? All questions welcome!
Dolphin Solutions
Interesting.