Nutrition Claims on Food Packages

-All of the other things we see- colors, images, words, are ways of capturing our attention and making the product look
enticing to consumers.

-Ask questions:

Q: What is confusing to you about food marketing?

Q: What are some examples of nutrition claims you see or hear about regarding certain foods?

Q: Why are products marketed with these claims?

Q: What do companies hope to get from us as consumers?

-Today we’re going to run through some of examples of these health claims, some of which are regulated by the FDA,
some are not.

-FDA is the regulating food agency, with a goal of being truthful but not misleading.

- Show pictures of what packaged food products would look like without advertisements

• “Good source fiber” vs. “great source”

o Yes, these claims are regulated
o good source= product must contain 10% of the DV or 2.5 g fiber per serving.
o Great source or high fiber= 20% DV fiber or 5g per serving. In Europe, these claims are slightly different.

• “Whole grain” or “whole wheat”

o Yes, these claims are regulated
o 10g whole grain per serving or ½ oz of whole grains/ brown rice per serving.
o Can also use claims relating whole grains with reduced risk of coronary heart disease and certain
cancers on products label (ie. cheerios)
o “Cereal grains that consist of the intact, ground, cracked, or flaked caryopsis, whose principal anatomical
components – the starchy endosperm, germ and bran – are present in the same relative proportions as
they exist in the intact caryopsis”
o Whole grain= examples are: amaranth, barley, buckwheat, bulgar, corn (including popcorn), millet,
quinoa, rice, rye, oats, sorghum, teff, triticale, wheat and wild rice
o Whole wheat is not soybeans, chickpeas, oilseeds and roots, corn flour or corn meal, pearled barley.

• “Superfood”
o No, this claim is not regulated, anybody can use it
o Food with supposed health benefits as a result of some part of its nutritional analysis or its overall
nutrient density
o Not commonly used by experts (dietitians or nutrition scientists)

• “Anti-inflammatory”
o not regulated

• “All-natural”
o Not regulated
o no definition of the term, so you can label anything you want with “natural.”
o Current products labeled as natural include frozen chicken nuggets, cereals, artificial sweeteners
 • “reduced fat” or “Low-fat” or “Fat-free”
o Reduced fat= 25% less fat than the original version
o reduced refers to the amount of fat that has been removed from the original product. So “30% less fat”
would be a reduced fat food product.
o Low fat= contains ≤ to 3 g fat per serving and 30% less of the total calories per serving from fat.
o There can only be 3g fat per 100g of a main dish
o Fat free= 0.5 g fat or less per serving and must not have a fat-based ingredient like oil

**talk about the difference between a serving size and a portion size (sometimes the serving size is not
reflective of what a normal portion would be)**
**nutrition labels can be a percentage above or below what the label actually says**

• “Healthy” or “Healthful” and “Health Promoting”

o must meet five criteria, four of them are maximum allowed levels of fat, saturated fat, sodium and
cholesterol. The fifth criteria require that a serving of the food has at least 10% of the DV of one or more
desirable nutrients (vit A, vit C, calcium, iron, dietary fiber and protein).
o The workaround is that replacement words can be used that are not regulated including “wholesome”
and “nutritious”.

• “Premium”
o when referring to meat it doesn’t mean anything, it is not regulated
o The FDA does have grades of meat that include terms like prime, choice, select, standard and good.

• “Enriched”
o Replaces nutrients lost during food processing
o White bread and white rice require enrichment in the United States

• “Fortified”
o Adding micronutrients to food (vitamins or trace elements)
o Examples are milk fortified with vitamin D, orange juice fortified with calcium, grain products fortified
with folic acid

• “Gluten Free”
o Can also be labeled “no gluten” or “free of gluten”
o <20 ppm of gluten which is the lowest that can be reliably detected using scientific analysis
o Labeling started in 2013

Q: As a consumer, how do these advertisements affect you?

Q: How do you respond to these labels that are put on foods? How can you re-frame these labels?

Q: How can you prepare for grocery shopping trips?

• Take a supportive friend or family member

• Use Instacart
• Make a list beforehand
• Find a store with a smaller selection
• Choose foods based on authentic taste preference
• Choose foods based on price per ounce, not brand name

Q: What contributes to this type of food labeling?

• Diet culture
• Individual beliefs about food