{"id":38341,"date":"2025-06-03T16:04:24","date_gmt":"2025-06-03T23:04:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/uprinting.com\/?p=38341"},"modified":"2025-10-29T00:40:53","modified_gmt":"2025-10-29T07:40:53","slug":"most-common-food-label-claims","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.uprinting.com\/blog\/most-common-food-label-claims\/","title":{"rendered":"\u201cOrganic,\u201d \u201cSugar-Free,\u201d and 28 Other Food Label Claims Explained"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Label claims on food packages carry useful information to help customers make informed choices about what they eat and drink. Under the US Food and Drug Administration (U.S. FDA) regulations, food products must meet the labeling requirements to promote transparency and protect consumer health.<\/p>

However, not all label claims are straightforward or self-explanatory. For instance, if your favorite soda tastes distinctly sweet but says \u201csugar-free\u201d on its label, what does it actually mean? How many calories does a low-calorie product have?<\/p>

This guide explains the meaning behind 30 of the most common label claims, helping small businesses that need\u00a0custom food labels<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0provide clearer information to their customers and support healthier food choices.<\/p>\n<\/div>

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\nSugar\n<\/h2>
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1. Sugar-Free<\/b>\u00a0\u2013 Less than 0.5-gram sugar per serving or no sugar-containing ingredients<\/p>

2. Reduced or Less Sugar<\/b>\u00a0\u2013 At least 25% less sugar than the regular version<\/p>

3. No Added Sugar<\/b>\u00a0\u2013 No sugar or sugar-containing ingredient added during processing<\/p>\n<\/div>

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\u201cNo Sugar Added\u201d or \u201cSugar Free\u201d doesn\u2019t mean naturally occurring or artificial sweeteners are absent. It means no sugar was manually added.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>

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\nCalories\n<\/h2>
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4. Calorie-Free<\/b>\u00a0\u2013 Less than 5 calories per serving<\/p>

5. Low Calorie<\/b>\u00a0\u2013 40 calories or less per serving<\/p>

6. Reduced Calorie<\/b>\u00a0\u2013 At least 25% fewer calories than the regular version<\/p>\n<\/div>

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Calorie labels guide consumers in making choices aligned with their weight goals.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>

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\nCholesterol\n<\/h2>
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7. Cholesterol-Free<\/b>\u00a0\u2013 Less than 2 mg of cholesterol or saturated fat per serving<\/p>

8. Low Cholesterol<\/b>\u00a0\u2013 20 mg or less of cholesterol per serving<\/p>

9. Reduced Cholesterol<\/b>\u00a0\u2013 At least 25% less cholesterol than the regular version<\/p>

\u201cReduced\u201d refers to comparison against a reference food, not an absolute cholesterol amount.<\/p>\n<\/div>

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\nFat\n<\/h2>
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10. Fat-Free<\/b>\u00a0\u2013 Less than 0.5-gram fat per serving<\/p>

11. Low Fat<\/b>\u00a0\u2013 3g or less per serving<\/p>

12. Reduced Fat<\/b>\u00a0\u2013 At least 25% less fat<\/p>

13. Low in Saturated Fat<\/b>\u00a0\u2013 1g or less saturated fat or 15%\/10% calories from sat. fat<\/p>\n<\/div>

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14. Lean<\/b>\u00a0\u2013 Less than 10g fat, 4.5g sat. fat, 95mg cholesterol<\/p>

15. Extra Lean<\/b>\u00a0\u2013 Less than 5g fat, 2g sat. fat, 95mg cholesterol<\/p>

16. Light or Lite<\/b>\u00a0\u2013 50% less fat or 1\/3 fewer calories<\/p>

\u201cFree\u201d means minimal presence, not zero fat.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>

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\nFiber\n<\/h2>
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17. High Fiber<\/b>\u00a0\u2013 20% or more of daily fiber value<\/p>

18. Good Source of Fiber<\/b>\u00a0\u2013 10\u201319% of daily fiber value<\/p>

Based on labeled serving size or Reference Amount Customarily Consumed (RACC).<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>

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\nSodium\n<\/h2>
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19. Sodium-Free \/ No Sodium<\/b>\u00a0\u2013 Less than 5 mg per serving<\/p>

20. Very Low Sodium<\/b>\u00a0\u2013 35 mg or less per serving<\/p>

21. Low Sodium<\/b>\u00a0\u2013 140 mg or less per serving<\/p>

22. Reduced Sodium<\/b>\u00a0\u2013 25% less sodium than regular<\/p>\n<\/div>

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23. Light in Sodium<\/b>\u00a0\u2013 50% less sodium<\/p>

24. Lightly Salted<\/b>\u00a0\u2013 50% less than usual salt<\/p>

25. No Salt Added<\/b>\u00a0\u2013 No salt added during processing<\/p>

Most processed food must label sodium content under FDA rules.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>

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\nHealthy\n<\/h2>
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26. Healthy<\/b>\u00a0\u2013 May include: low fat, low sat. fat, < 480mg sodium, < 95mg cholesterol, 10% DV of key nutrients<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>

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\nNatural\n<\/h2>
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27. Natural<\/b>\u00a0\u2013 No artificial\/synthetic ingredients not expected in food<\/p>

Doesn\u2019t cover production methods or nutritional\/health benefits.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>

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\nOrganic\n<\/h2>
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28. Organic<\/b>\u00a0\u2013 95%+ ingredients organic, no pesticides\/synthetics, eco-farming<\/p>

USDA certifies and provides seals for eligible farms and businesses.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>

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\nGluten-Free\n<\/h2>
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30. Gluten-Free<\/b>\u00a0\u2013 Less than 20 ppm of gluten<\/p>

Must not contain wheat, barley, rye, or derivatives not processed to remove gluten or still exceed 20 ppm.<\/p>\n<\/div>

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\nGeneral Guidelines\n<\/h2>
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If you can\u2019t remember the meaning of all the terms mentioned above, don\u2019t worry. You can use this general guidance instead:<\/p>

Free<\/b>\u00a0\u2013 The food has the least possible or negligible amount of a certain nutrient.<\/p>

Very Low\/Low<\/b>\u00a0\u2013 The food has a little more than foods labeled \u201cFree.\u201d<\/p>

Reduced\/Less<\/b>\u00a0\u2013 The food has 25% less of a specific nutrient than the regular version of the food.<\/p>

\u201cMore,\u201d \u201cFortified,\u201d \u201cEnriched,\u201d \u201cAdded,\u201d \u201cExtra,\u201d or \u201cPlus\u201d<\/b>\u00a0\u2013 The food has 10% or more of the daily value than the regular version of the food. These terms are often used to indicate vitamins, minerals, potassium, protein, and dietary fiber.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>

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\nWrapping It Up\n<\/h2>
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Now that we have decoded the meaning of popular food label claims, we hope to inspire consumers to make healthier choices and businesses to design their product labels and packaging in a way that adheres to the FDA regulations.<\/p>

If you need nutrition labels, UPrinting lets you customize every detail \u2014 from shape, size, finish, and material \u2014 so the FDA-required details are conveyed clearly and completely.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/section>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Label claims on food packages carry useful information to help customers make informed choices about what they eat and drink. Under the US Food and Drug Administration (U.S. FDA) regulations, food products must meet the labeling requirements to promote transparency and protect consumer health.However, not all label claims are straightforward or self-explanatory. For instance, if […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":23,"featured_media":38490,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_breakdance_hide_in_design_set":false,"_breakdance_tags":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[832],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-38341","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-marketing-and-growth"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n30 Food Label Claims and What They Mean<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"In this article, UPrinting explains the actual meaning of popular food label claims, such as sugar-free, reduced fat, low calorie, organic, and natural.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.uprinting.com\/blog\/most-common-food-label-claims\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" 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