| Label Claim | Explanation |
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| Saturated Fat | |
| Saturated fat free* | In a serving: less than ½ gram saturated fat; levels of trans fatty acids must be 1 percent or less of total fat. |
| Low** saturated fat | In a serving: contains 1 gram or less saturated fat; 15 percent or less of calories from saturated fat. In a meal or main dish (like a frozen dinner): 1 gram or less saturated fat per 100 grams of food; less than 10 percent of calories from saturated fat. |
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| Cholesterol | |
| Cholesterol free* | In a serving: less than 2 milligrams (mg) cholesterol; saturated fat content must be 2 grams or less. |
| Low** cholesterol | In a serving: contains 20 mg or less cholesterol; saturated fat content must be 2 grams or less. In a meal or main dish (like a frozen dinner): 20 mg or less cholesterol per 100 grams of food; less than 2 grams of fat. |
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| Fat | |
| Fat free* | In a serving: less than ½ gram. |
| Low** fat | In a serving: 3 grams or less total fat. In a meal or main dish (like a frozen dinner): 3 grams or less total per 100 grams of food; less than 30 percent calories from fat. |
| Percent fat free | A food with this claim must also meet the "low fat" claim. |
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| Calories | |
| Calorie free* | In a serving: less than 5 calories. |
| Low** calorie | In a serving: 40 or less calories. |
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| Sodium | |
| Sodium free* | In a serving: 5 mg or less sodium. |
| Low** sodium | In a serving: 140mg or less sodium. In a meal or main dish (like a frozen dinner): 140mg or less sodium per 100 grams of food. |
| Very low sodium | In a serving: 35mg or less sodium. |
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| "Light" | |
| A product has been changed to have half the fat or one-third fewer calories than the regular product; or the sodium in a low calorie, low fat food has been cut by 50 percent; or a meal or main dish is low fat or low calorie.
"Light" also may be used to describe things like the color or texture of a food, as long as the label explains this: for example, "light brown sugar" or "light and fluffy." |
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| "Reduced" / "Less" / "Lower" / "Fewer" | |
| A food (like a lower-fat hot dog or a lower-sodium cracker) has at least 25 percent less of something like calories, fat, saturated fat, cholesterol, or sodium than the regular food or a similar food to which it is compared. | |
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| "Lean" / "Extra Lean" | |
| Terms used to describe the fat content of meat, poultry, fish, and shellfish: | |
| Lean | In a serving and per 100 grams of food: less than 10 grams fat, 4.5 grams or less saturated fat, and less than 95 mg cholesterol. |
| Extra lean | In a serving and per 100 grams of food: less than 5 grams fat, 2 grams or less saturated fat, and less than 95 mg cholesterol. |
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* Words that mean the same thing as "free": "no," "zero," "without," "trivial source of," "negligable source of," and "dietarily insignificant source of." ** Words that mean the same thing as "low": "contains a small amount of" and "low source of." |
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