Understanding Nutrition Claims

Food advertisements and package labels seem to present an increasing number of marketing claims that can confuse even the most savvy shopper. Here are the facts about the claims you see on labels. Tick the ones that you already know and always check the Nutrition Information Panel.

• ‘Reduced fat’, ‘Lower fat’ – 25% less fat than the regular version.
• ‘Light’, ‘Lite’ – The characteristic that makes the food ‘light’ must be stated on the label. It could be fat or salt content, colour or even flavour.
• ‘Low fat’ – No more than 3g fat per 100g.
• ‘% Fat Free’ – Must meet the low-fat claim, so you should only see 97%, 98%, 99% or 100% fat free. Claims like 95% fat free are in breach of food industry guidelines. ‘Fat Free’ can only appear on foods with no more than 0.15g fat per 100g.
• ‘Low saturated fat’ – Must meet the ‘low fat’ claim and have no more than 1.5g saturated fat per 100g of food or 0.75g per 100g liquid food.
• ‘Low cholesterol’ – No more than 20mg cholesterol per100g. ‘Cholesterol Free’ can appear if cholesterol is no more than 3mg per 100g.
• ‘Reduced sugar’ – 25% less sugar than the regular version.
• ‘Low sugar’ – No more than 5g total sugars per 100g. ‘Sugar free’ only if sugar is no more than 0.2g per 100g of food or 0.1g per 100g liquid.
• ‘No added sugar’ – No added simple sugars, including added honey, malt, malt extract and maltose. Foods may still contain natural sugars.
• ‘Unsweetened’ – Contains ‘no added sugars’ and no artificial sweeteners.
• ‘Diet’ – 40% less energy than the regular version and a reduction of at least 170 kJ per 100 g food, or 80 kJ of liquid food.
• ‘Source of fibre’ – At least 1.5g fibre per serve. ‘High fibre’ must have 3g fibre per serve and  
• ‘Very high fibre’, 6g fibre per serve.
• ‘Low salt’ – No more than 120mg sodium per 100g. ‘Salt free’ and ‘No salt’ only when there is no more than 5mg sodium per 100g of food or 2.5mg per 100g liquid.