Nutrient Content Claims define the criteria
for Health Check food categories. Definitions of the claims are included
below.
Keyword
What they mean
Free
-an amount so small, health experts consider it nutritionally insignificant
Sodium free
-less than 5 mg of sodium*
Cholesterol free
-less than 2 mg cholesterol, and low in saturated fat (includes a restriction on trans fat)*
not necessarily low in total fat
Low
- always associated with a very small amount
low fat
- 3 g or less fat*
Low in saturated fat
- 2 g or less of saturated and trans fat combined
Reduced
- at least 25% less of a nutrient compared with a similar product
Reduced in Calories
- at least 25% less energy than the food to which it is compared
Source
- always associated with a "significant" amount
Source of fibre
- 2 grams or more fibre*
Good source of calcium
- 165 mg or more of calcium*
Light
- when referring to a nutritional characteristic of a product,
it is allowed only on foods that are either "reduced in fat" or "reduced in energy" (Calories)
- explanation on the label of what makes the food "light"; this is also true if "light"
refers to sensory characteristic, such as "light in colour**
*per reference amount and per serving
of stated size (specific amount of food listed in Nutrition Facts)
*three exceptions that
do not require an explanation are "light maple syrup", "light rum"
and "light salted" with respect to fish. Note that a separate
provision is made for the claim "lightly salted" which may be used
when a food contains at least 50% less added sodium compared with
a similar product.
Source: Health Canada - Nutrition Labelling Tool Kit for Educators
