Q: Can you believe the claims on the label?


 A: Under the Nutrition Labeling and Education Act of 1990, the product must meet strict rules and definitions established by the government for a manufacturer to make a nutrient claim (such as "low", "lite", or "reduced") or a health claim. The Food and Drug Administration and U.S. Department of Agriculture have the authority to ensure that manufacturers comply with these rules. Therefore, when you see terms like "low fat" and "high fiber" on the food label, you can believe them. That's because the government has set strict definitions for 11 terms that can be used to describe a food's nutrient content. These terms are:

 

Source: Excerpted from FDA/FSIS Brochure, October 1993: An Introduction to the New Food Label, and FDA Flyer, 1994: The New Food Label: What Consumers Want to Know.
Updated: November 1996, Office of Food Labeling

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