Often, food labels claim that a product is fat free, low-fat, or light. Because these terms can be confusing, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has defined each one:

Fat free-- The product has less than 0.5 grams of fat per serving.

Low-fat-- The product has 3 grams or less of fat per serving.

Reduced or less fat-- The product has at least 25 percent less fat per serving than the full-fat version.

Lite or light--
These terms can have a few meanings:

• the product has fewer calories or half the fat of the non-light version, or
• the sodium content of a low-calorie, low-fat food is 50 percent less than the non-light version, or
• a food is clearer in color (like light instead of dark corn syrup).

Calorie free-- The product has less than 5 calories per serving.

Low calorie-- The product has 40 calories or less per serving.

Reduced or fewer calories-- The product has at least 25 percent fewer calories per serving than the non-reduced version.

Make sure to read the Nutrition Facts Label to find out how many calories are in a food.

 

Source from Weight-control Information Network, http://www.niddk.nih.gov/