Bifalgorithm post · Human Nutrition · Discovering Nutrition Facts
Label Claims
Label Claims (Human Nutrition · Discovering Nutrition Facts) — "In addition to mandating nutrients and ingredients that must appear on food labels, any nutrien…
Ideas in this flowchart
- Food labels must follow defined requirements for nutrients, ingredients, and health-related claims.
- Labels must declare required nutrients and ingredients.
- Nutrient content claims must satisfy regulatory requirements.
- A manufacturer may not claim that a food is fat-free or low-fat unless the claim is factually accurate.
- Low-fat means three or fewer grams of fat; low salt means fewer than 140 milligrams of sodium; and low-cholesterol means fewer than 20 milligrams of cholesterol and two grams of saturated fat.
- Other terms include lean, high, good source, light or lite, and organic, each with defined nutrient or ingredient criteria.
- A health claim links a particular food with a reduced risk of developing a disease.
- The FDA must evaluate health claims before they may appear on food packaging.
- Before the NLEA was passed, products making such claims were categorized as drugs rather than food.
- Health claims must be substantiated by scientific evidence before approval.
- Laws regulate how health claims are presented on food packaging to prevent false claims.
- A health claim may not state that a food cures or treats a disease.
- Qualified health claims differ from health claims because their supporting evidence is less definitive.
- Qualified claims may indicate that a food or nutrient is beneficial when the evidence only suggests, rather than conclusively establishes, the benefit.