Nutrition Labels

Here are some of the terms used on food labels, and what they really mean:

Free - indicates that the product contains none, or only negligible, amounts of fat, saturated fat, cholesterol, sodium, sugar, and/or calories.
	Calorie Free - Fewer than 5 calories per serving. Cholesterol Free - Less than 2 mg of cholesterol and 2 grams or less of saturated fat per serving. Fat Free - Less than .5 g of fat per serving. Sodium Free - Less than 5 mg of sodium per serving and no sodium chloride in ingredient list. Sugar Free - Less than .5 g of sugar per serving. Not necessarily low in calories.
Low - may be used on foods that can be eaten frequently without a exceeding a person's dietary guidelines for saturated fat, cholesterol, sodium, and/or calories.
	Low Calorie - No more than 40 calories per serving. Low Cholesterol - No more than 20 mg of cholesterol and 2 g or less of saturated fat per serving. Low Fat - No more than 3 g of fat per serving. Low Sodium - No more than 140 mg of sodium per serving. Very low sodium has less than 35 mg per serving.
High - indicates that the serving of food contains 20% or more of the Daily Value for a particular nutrient.
	High Fiber - 5 g or more of fiber per serving.
Good Source - means that the serving of food supplies 10-19% of the Daily Value for a particular nutrient.
Reduced - means that the product has been altered and contains 25% less of a nutrient (such as fat) or of calories than of the regular product.
	Reduced Calories, Cholesterol, Fat, Sodium, or Sugar - The product must have at least 25% less of these ingredients than the regular product.
Less - means that a food contains 25% less of a nutrient than a comparable food.
	Pretzels could be labeled as containing 25% less fat than potato chips.
Light - means the calories in an altered food have been reduced by at least 1/3 of what they were in the regular product, or the fat by at least 1/2. Light can also mean that the sodium content has been reduced by 50%.
More - means that a serving of food contains at least 10% more of the Daily Value for a nutrient than the regular food.
Percent Fat Free - is a reflection of the amount of the food's weight that is without fat.
Lean and Extra Lean - describe the fat content of certain meats, poultry, seafood, and game meats.
	Lean - Fewer than 10 g of fat, fewer than 4 g of saturated fat, and fewer than 95 mg of cholesterol per serving. Extra Lean - Fewer than 5 g of fat, fewer than 2 g of saturated fat, and fewer than 95 mg of cholesterol per serving.
Enriched - The replacement of nutrients lost in the manufacturing process.
	Most common is the addition of B-vitamins and iron.
Fortified - The addition of nutrients to foods that did not originally contain them.