Food labels 101

Food labels 101

Free. As in fat-free or sugar free. This means that one serving has so little of the stuff in question that is won’t make a blip on your dietary screen.

Low. as in low calorie or low fat. This means the product doesn’t have a lot of a particular substance, but it has enough that it could make a difference in your diet. Specifically, low calorie means 40 calories or less per serving; low fat means 3 grams or less of total fat; less saturated fat means 1 gram or less; and low cholesterol means less than 20 milligrams.

Lean or extra-lean. These terms refer to meat. Lean means one serving has less than 10 grams of total fat, and less than 95 milligrams of cholesterol. Extra-lean means one serving has less than 5 grams of total fat, and less than 95 milligrams of cholesterol.

Reduced-or less. This means there is 25 percent less of a certain ingredient or nutrient as compared with a similar product. Reduced-means the product was nutritionally altered to meet the claim. The term less, by contrast, is often used for comparisons, as in “our pretzels have 25 percent less sodium than potato chips.”