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Food and Nutrition
Nutrition Labelling... Get the Facts!
| Keyword | What they mean |
|---|---|
| Free | an amount so small, health experts consider it nutritionally insignificant |
| Sodium free | - less than 5 mg sodium* |
| Cholesterol free | - less than 2 mg cholesterol, and low in saturated fat (includes a restriction on trans fat)* - not necessarily low in total fat |
| Low | always associated with a very small amount |
| Low fat | - 3 g or less fat* |
| Low in saturated fat | - 2 g or less of saturated and trans fat combined* |
| Reduced | at least 25% less of a nutrient compared with a similar product |
| Reduced in Calories | - at least 25% less energy than the food to which it is compared |
| Source | always associated with a "significant" amount |
| Source of fibre | - 2 grams or more fibre* |
| Good source of calcium | - 165 mg or more of calcium* |
| Light | when referring to a nutritional characteristic of a product, it is allowed only on foods that are either "reduced in fat" or "reduced in energy" (Calories) - explanation on the label of what makes the food "light"; this is also true if "light" refers to sensory characteristics, such as "light in colour"** |
*per reference amount and per serving of stated size (specific amount of food listed in Nutrition Facts)
** three exceptions that do not require an explanation are "light maple syrup", "light rum" and "light salted" with respect to fish. Note that a separate provision is made for the claim "lightly salted" which may be used when a food contains at least 50% less added sodium compared with a similar product
