02/16/2026
Understanding nutrient content claims on food labels is an essential skill for making informed food choices in today’s information-rich environment.
Here are the common nutrient content claims, including, “free”, “low”, “reduced”, “lite”, “high”, or “good source”.
Free claims indicate that the product contains no or negligible amounts of fat, sugar, saturated fat, cholesterol, sodium, or calories (e.g., Fat-free: < 0.5g per serving; Sodium-free: < 5mg per serving).
Low claims are used for foods that can be eaten frequently without exceeding the dietary guidelines for fat, saturated fat, cholesterol, sodium, or calories (Low fat: 3g per serving; Low sodium: 140mg per serving; Low calorie: 40 calories per serving).
Reduced or less claims indicate that the food product contains at least 25% less of a nutrient (e.g., calories, fat, sodium) compared to the original or reference product.
Lite or light claims indicates that the product has one-third fewer calories or 50% less fat than the reference food.
High or “excellent source” claims indicate that the food contains 20% or more of the Daily Value (DV) for a specific nutrient per serving.
Good source claims indicate that the food contains 10 to 19% of the DV for a specific nutrient per serving.
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