Understanding Food Labels

One of the ‘secrets’ to successful and sustainable fat loss is learning to decipher food labels and then putting this skill to good use when making food purchases.

The following food label claims may assist you to better understand what you are eating, and to choose products which better meet your health and nutrition needs.

CLAIM	CONDITION
Fats
Low saturated fat	No more than 1.5g saturated fat per 100g Or 0.75g saturated fat per 100g of liquid
Reduced saturated fat Reduced in saturated fat Less saturated fat Lower saturated fat	No more than 2g saturated fat per 100g Or 1g saturated fat per 100g liquid
Reduced fat Lower fat Less fat	At least 25 per cent less fat than regular products Decrease of at least 3g fat per 100g Or 1.5g fat per 100g liquid
Low fat/low in fat	Not more than 3g fat per 100g Or1.5g fat per 100g liquid
Fat free	Should not have more than 0.15g total fat per 100g
X per cent fat free	Must meet all requirements of ‘low fat’ claim Must state actual fat content
Salt / Sodium
Low salt / sodium Low in salt / sodium	Not more than 120mg sodium per 100g
Very low salt / sodium Very low in salt /sodium	Not have more than 40g sodium per 100g
Reduced salt / sodium Reduced in salt / sodium Salt / sodium reduced	Not contain more than 600mg per 100g
Lightly salted
Salt free No salt Sodium free No sodium	Not contain more than 5mg sodium per 100g Or 2.5mg sodium per 100g liquid food
No added salt / sodium Unsalted	No salt added
Cholesterol
Reduced cholesterol Lower cholesterol Less cholesterol	Not contain more than 20mg cholesterol per 100g Ether low in fat or fatty acid component should not have more than 20 per cent saturated fatty acids and not less than 40 per cent polyunsaturated/monounsaturated fatty acids
Cholesterol free No cholesterol	Not contain more than 20mg cholesterol per 100g Ether low in fat or fatty acid component should not have more than 20 per cent saturated fatty acids and not less than 40 per cent polyunsaturated/monounsaturated fatty acids
Other
Light / Lite Diet	Can be related to taste, texture, salt or fat Not always low in fat Characteristics which make it light must be listed on label Energy content relatively lower than normal products Energy content should not be more than 60 per cent of energy content of same quantity of reference product Reduction in energy content must be at least 170 kj per 100g Or 80 kj per 100g liquid compared with reference product
Toasted / oven baked	Usually means fried. Check for added fats
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