Common Food Label Terms and What They Mean

Food packages are designed to entice you to buy the food tucked inside. Part of that design includes words like “zero calories” or “less fat than the leading brand.” But did you know food companies must follow specific rules when making nutritional claims about their food?

Understanding these claims can help inform your grocery shopping. Check out what some common food marketing terms really mean.^1-4

Calories and sugar

• Calorie-free: Less than 5 calories per serving (or other designated amount).
• Light or lite: One-third fewer calories, 50 percent less fat, or 50 percent less sodium than the regular version.
• Low calorie: 40 calories or less per serving.
• No added sugar: No sugar or sugar-containing ingredient, such as corn syrup, was added as the food was made.
• Reduced calorie, reduced sugar, or less sugar: At least 25 percent fewer calories or other ingredients (fat or sugar) than the regular product.
• Sugar-free: Less than 0.5 grams (g) of sugar per serving.

Fat and cholesterol

• Cholesterol-free: 2 milligrams (mg) or less of cholesterol and 2 g or less of saturated fat per serving.
• Extra-lean: Less than 5 g of fat, 2 g of saturated fat, and 95 mg of cholesterol.
• Fat-free: Less than 0.5 g of fat per serving and no ingredient that is fat.
• Lean: Less than 10 g of fat, 4.5 g of saturated fat, and 95 mg of cholesterol.
• Low cholesterol: 20 mg or less of cholesterol per serving.
• Low fat: 3 g of fat or less per serving (and not more than 30 percent of calories from fat for meals and main dishes).
• Low in saturated fat: 1 g or less of saturated fat per serving, or saturated fat makes up no more than 15 percent of total calories.
• Reduced cholesterol: At least 25 percent less cholesterol than the regular product.

Salt (sodium)

• Light or lite in salt, lightly salted: At least 50 percent less sodium than the regular version.
• Low sodium: 140 mg or less of sodium per serving.
• No salt added or unsalted: No salt added during processing. If there is still salt in the food, the label must say “not a sodium-free food” or “not for control of sodium in the diet.”
• Reduced or less sodium: At least 25 percent less salt than the regular product.
• Sodium-free or salt-free: Less than 5 mg of sodium per serving, and no ingredient that is sodium chloride or contains salt.
• Very low sodium: 35 mg or less of sodium per serving.

Other food marketing terms

• Fresh: Raw food that has not been frozen, heat processed, or preserved in any way.
• Gluten-free: Contains 20 parts per million or less of gluten.
• Good source of fiber: Contains 10 to 19 percent of average daily fiber needs.
• High fiber or excellent source of fiber: Contains 20 percent or more of average daily fiber needs.
• Natural: Often used for meat and poultry products that do not have added chemical preservatives, hormones, and other similar substances.
• Organic food: Food made without antibiotics, growth hormones, radiation, and conventional pesticides and fertilizers.
• Multigrain: Food that contains more than one type of grain. If the food isn’t marked as whole grain then the grains may be refined, meaning they have lost nutrients during processing.