Food Labels

by KYW's Amy Feldman

Time to make that New Year’s resolution a reality—this is your year to go on a diet.  When you read a food label and see the words, "high in fiber" "lean" and "sugar free" you can bet those words mean, "tastes disgusting."  But those words have a legally regulated meaning, as well.

The FDA has defined and strictly regulates the use of 11 core terms on nutritional labels so that manufacturers can't deceive the public into believing the food they're selling is healthier than it is.  Bet you didn’t know that the definition of free, low, lean, extra lean, high, good source, reduced, less, light, fewer, or more are strictly regulated.  For example, to be "lean," food has to have less than 10 grams of fat per serving.  To be "high" in a nutrient, the food must have at least 20% of the daily value of that nutrient.  And to be "a good source of" something, the food must have between 10% and 19% of that ingredient's recommended daily value.
 
To learn about the content of the food you're buying, look at the FDA's website so that if it's going to be tasteless, at least you can make sure it's really good for you.