Lite, Low Fat Food : Part 2

by Food and Drug Administration (FDA)

(Page 2 of 2)

Meals and Main Dishes

Any product represented as or in a form commonly understood to be breakfast, lunch or dinner is subject to the special rules for meal products. Examples include frozen dinners, some pizzas, and shelf-stable items.

Under FDA rules, a main dish must weigh at least 6 ounces and contain at least two different foods from at least two of four specified food groups. (While FDA endorses the five food groups recommended in current dietary guidelines, the agency believes treating fruits and vegetables as separate groups in this situation would allow the inappropriate classification of a fruit and a vegetable product as a main dish.)

FDA requires a "meal" to weigh at least 10 ounces and have at least three different foods from at least two of the four specified food groups.

USDA defines a meal-type product as one weighing between 6 and 12 ounces per serving and containing ingredients from two or more of four specified food groups.

Claims that a meal or main dish is "free" of a nutrient, such as sodium or cholesterol, must meet the same requirements as those for individual foods.

"Low" claims can be made if the main dish or meal has:

• 120 calories or less per 100 g
• 140 mg sodium or less per 100 g
• 3 g fat or less and no more than 30 percent of calories from fat per 100 g
• 1 g saturated fat or less and no more than 10 percent calories from saturated fat per 100 g or
• 20 mg cholesterol or less per 100 g and no more than 2 g of saturated fat per 100 g.

Implied Claims

"Made with oat bran" and "no tropical oils" are examples of statements that may be implied nutrient content claims. Such claims are prohibited when they wrongfully imply that a food contains or does not contain a meaningful level of a nutrient. They are allowed if the food's nutrient content meets the definition for appropriate nutrient content descriptors that are implied by the claim.

For example, FDA considers statements about some types of oil as an ingredient, such as "made with canola oil" or "contains corn oil," to imply that the oil in the product is low in saturated fat. Therefore, to carry that claim, a food would have to meet the definition of "low saturated fat."

The statement "made only with vegetable oil" implies that because vegetable oil is used instead of animal fat, the oil component contributes no cholesterol and is low in saturated fat. In this case, the claim could be used only if the food meets the definition of "cholesterol free" and "low saturated fat."

And the statement "contains no oil" implies that the product contains no fat and thus is fat free. Such a claim on a product that contained another source of fat, such as animal fat, would be misleading. Therefore, this statement would be allowed only if the food is truly fat free.

Claims that imply a product contains a particular amount of fiber, such as "high in oat bran," can be made only if the food actually meets the definition for "high" fiber or "good source" of fiber, whichever is appropriate.

Statements that don't fall under the rules for nutrient content implied claims and therefore are still allowed are:

• those that help consumers avoid certain foods because of religious beliefs or dietary practices--for example, a "milk-free" claim
• those about nonnutritive ingredients, such as "no preservatives" or "no artificial colors"
• those about ingredients that provide added value, such as "contains real fruit"
• statements of identity, such as "Colombian coffee" and "100 percent corn oil"

Fresh

Although not mandated by the Nutrition Labeling and Education Act of 1990, as regulations for the other nutrient content claims are, FDA has issued a regulation for the term "fresh." Under this regulation, "fresh" can be used only on a food that is raw, has never been frozen or heated, and contains no preservatives. (Irradiation at low levels is allowed.) "Fresh frozen," "frozen fresh," and "freshly frozen" can be used for foods that are quickly frozen while still fresh. Blanching (brief scalding before freezing to prevent nutrient breakdown) is allowed.

Other uses of the term "fresh," such as in "fresh milk" or "freshly baked bread," are not affected.

Healthy

Along with the final rule on nutrient content claims published last January, FDA and FSIS published proposed rules that would allow manufacturers to make a "healthy" claim on the label. Under FDA's proposal, "healthy" could be used if the food is low in fat and saturated fat and a serving does not contain more than 480 mg of sodium or more than 60 mg of cholesterol. USDA's proposal would allow the term if the food meets the definition for "lean" and contains no more than 480 mg of sodium per serving.

Special Situations

"Standards of identity" define a food's composition and specify the ingredients it must contain. The government originally developed these standards to protect consumers from economic deception.

But some standards of identity require high amounts of nutrients that many consumers would like to avoid. For example, the standard for sour cream requires that the food contain 18 percent fat and the standard for mozzarella cheese requires it to be 45 percent fat. Before the new regulations, "reduced-fat" sour cream or mozzarella cheese were required to have their own standards of identity or be called "imitation" or "substitute," names that consumers may perceive as negative.

The new regulations allow manufacturers to reduce the fat content of such products and call them "low fat" or "light," as appropriate, as long as the food is still nutritionally equivalent to the regular version. For example, sour cream can be called "light" as long as its fat content is reduced to 9 percent and it has vitamin A added to replace the amount lost when the fat was removed. If the company decides not to add the vitamin A, it must call the product "imitation light sour cream."

FDA is not allowing nutrient content claims on foods for infants and children under 2, unless explicit permission has been given.

FDA allows manufacturers to use the terms "unsweetened" and "unsalted" on these foods because these claims are considered to be about taste rather than nutrient content. However, current dietary guidelines do not call for limiting salt or sugar in the diets of children under 2. Therefore, FDA will not allow phrases that imply low or reduced amounts of sodium and calories, such as "no salt added" and "no sugar added," on these types of foods.

About the Author

www.fda.gov
FDA is A United States government body that oversees medical devices, including contact lenses, intraocular lenses, excimer lasers and eyedrops. In the US, these products must be approved by the FDA before they can be marketed.