Guidelines for Understanding Food Labels

In today's realm of health conscious consumers, the proper labeling and interpretation of nutrients found in food is very important.  With that in mind, the FDA has mandated the use of certain terms and language on food containers.  This language is meant to inform the consumer and allow the consumer to make informed choices when selecting food products. 

The following are food terms that describe the amount of cholesterol found in foods:

Low Cholesterol:  Foods that contain 20 milligrams or less of cholesterol and 2 grams or less of saturated fat per serving.

Reduced Cholesterol:  Foods that contain 25 percent less cholesterol than a regular food of the same kind and also these foods must contain 2 grams or less of saturated fat per serving.

Cholesterol Free:  Foods in this group contain less than 2 milligrams of cholesterol as well as 2 grams or less of saturated fat per serving. 

These terms describe the amount and type of fats found in foods:

Low Fat:  Food must have 3 grams or less fat per serving.

Fat Free:  Food must contain less than 0.5 grams of fat per serving.

Low Saturated Fat:  Food must have 1 gram or less of saturated fat per serving and less than 0.5 grams of trans fat for each serving.

Less Saturated Fat:  Food must contain 25 percent less combined saturated and trans fat than a similar regular food.

Saturated Fat Free:  Food must have less than 0.5 grams of saturated fat per serving and also less than 0.5 grams of trans fat per serving.

Trans Fat Free:  Food must have less than 0.5 grams of trans fat and less than 0.5 grams of saturated fat per serving.

Understanding the relevance of these food labeling terms can help you as a consumer make wiser food buying choices.  When it comes to food labels, knowledge is definitely power.