[Code of Federal Regulations]
[Title 9, Volume 2, Parts 200 to end]
[Revised as of January 1, 2001]
From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access
[CITE: 9CFR317.360]

[Page 210-213]
 
                  TITLE 9--ANIMALS AND ANIMAL PRODUCTS
 
     CHAPTER III--FOOD SAFETY AND INSPECTION SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF 
                               AGRICULTURE
 
PART 317--LABELING, MARKING DEVICES, AND CONTAINERS--Table of Contents
 
                      Subpart B--Nutrition Labeling
 
Sec. 317.360  Nutrient content claims for calorie content.

    (a) General requirements. A claim about the calorie or sugar content 
of a product may only be made on the label or in labeling of the product 
if:
    (1) The claim uses one of the terms defined in this section in 
accordance with the definition for that term;
    (2) The claim is made in accordance with the general requirements 
for nutrient content claims in Sec. 317.313; and
    (3) The product for which the claim is made is labeled in accordance 
with Sec. 317.309.
    (b) Calorie content claims. (1) The terms ``calorie free,'' ``free 
of calories,'' ``no calories,'' ``zero calories,'' ``without calories,'' 
``trivial source of calories,'' ``negligible source of calories,'' or 
``dietarily insignificant source of calories'' may be used on the label 
or in labeling of products, provided that:
    (i) The product contains less than 5 calories per reference amount 
customarily consumed and per labeled serving size; and
    (ii) If the product meets this condition without the benefit of 
special processing, alteration, formulation, or reformulation to lower 
the caloric content, it is labeled to clearly refer to all products of 
its type and not merely to the particular brand to which the label 
attaches.
    (2) The terms ``low calorie,'' ``few calories,'' ``contains a small 
amount of calories,'' ``low source of calories,'' or ``low in calories'' 
may be used on the label or in labeling of products, except meal-type 
products as defined in Sec. 317.313(l), provided that:
    (i)(A) The product has a reference amount customarily consumed 
greater than 30 grams (g) or greater than 2 tablespoons (tbsp) and does 
not provide

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more than 40 calories per reference amount customarily consumed; or
    (B) The product has a reference amount customarily consumed of 30 g 
or less or 2 tbsp or less and does not provide more than 40 calories per 
reference amount customarily consumed and per 50 g (for dehydrated 
products that must be reconstituted before typical consumption with 
water or a diluent containing an insignificant amount, as defined in 
Sec. 317.309(f)(1), of all nutrients per reference amount customarily 
consumed, the per-50-g criterion refers to the ``as prepared'' form).
    (ii) If the product meets these conditions without the benefit of 
special processing, alteration, formulation, or reformulation to lower 
the caloric content, it is labeled to clearly refer to all products of 
its type and not merely to the particular brand to which the label 
attaches.
    (3) The terms defined in paragraph (b)(2) of this section may be 
used on the label or in labeling of a meal-type product as defined in 
Sec. 317.313(l), provided that:
    (i) The product contains 120 calories or less per 100 g of product; 
and
    (ii) If the product meets this condition without the benefit of 
special processing, alteration, formulation, or reformulation to lower 
the calorie content, it is labeled to clearly refer to all products of 
its type and not merely to the particular brand to which it attaches.
    (4) The terms ``reduced calorie,'' ``reduced in calories,'' 
``calorie reduced,'' ``fewer calories,'' ``lower calorie,'' or ``lower 
in calories'' may be used on the label or in labeling of products, 
except meal-type products as defined in Sec. 317.313(l), provided that:
    (i) The product contains at least 25 percent fewer calories per 
reference amount customarily consumed than an appropriate reference 
product as described in Sec. 317.313(j)(1); and
    (ii) As required in Sec. 317.313(j)(2) for relative claims:
    (A) The identity of the reference product and the percent (or 
fraction) that the calories differ between the two products are declared 
in immediate proximity to the most prominent such claim (e.g., lower 
calorie `product'--``33\1/3\ percent fewer calories than our regular 
`product' ''); and
    (B) Quantitative information comparing the level of calories in the 
product per labeled serving size with that of the reference product that 
it replaces is declared adjacent to the most prominent claim or to the 
nutrition information (e.g., ``calorie content has been reduced from 150 
to 100 calories per serving'').
    (iii) Claims described in paragraph (b)(4) of this section may not 
be made on the label or in labeling of products if the reference product 
meets the definition for ``low calorie.''
    (5) The terms defined in paragraph (b)(4) of this section may be 
used on the label or in labeling of a meal-type product as defined in 
Sec. 317.313(l), provided that:
    (i) The product contains at least 25 percent fewer calories per 100 
g of product than an appropriate reference product as described in 
Sec. 317.313(j)(1); and
    (ii) As required in Sec. 317.313(j)(2) for relative claims:
    (A) The identity of the reference product and the percent (or 
fraction) that the calories differ between the two products are declared 
in immediate proximity to the most prominent such claim (e.g., ``calorie 
reduced `product', 25% less calories per ounce (oz) (or 3 oz) than our 
regular `product' ''); and
    (B) Quantitative information comparing the level of calories in the 
product per specified weight with that of the reference product that it 
replaces is declared adjacent to the most prominent claim or to the 
nutrition information (e.g., ``calorie content has been reduced from 110 
calories per 3 oz to 80 calories per 3 oz'').
    (iii) Claims described in paragraph (b)(5) of this section may not 
be made on the label or in labeling of products if the reference product 
meets the definition for ``low calorie.''
    (c) Sugar content claims. (1) Terms such as ``sugar free,'' ``free 
of sugar,'' ``no sugar,'' ``zero sugar,'' ``without sugar,'' 
``sugarless,'' ``trivial source of sugar,'' ``negligible source of 
sugar,'' or ``dietarily insignificant source of sugar'' may reasonably 
be expected to be regarded by consumers as terms that represent that the 
product contains no sugars or sweeteners, e.g.,

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``sugar free,'' or ``no sugar,'' as indicating a product which is low in 
calories or significantly reduced in calories. Consequently, except as 
provided in paragraph (c)(2) of this section, a product may not be 
labeled with such terms unless:
    (i) The product contains less than 0.5 g of sugars, as defined in 
Sec. 317.309(c)(6)(ii), per reference amount customarily consumed and 
per labeled serving size or, in the case of a meal-type product, less 
than 0.5 g of sugars per labeled serving size;
    (ii) The product contains no ingredient that is a sugar or that is 
generally understood by consumers to contain sugars unless the listing 
of the ingredient in the ingredients statement is followed by an 
asterisk that refers to the statement below the list of ingredients, 
which states: ``Adds a trivial amount of sugar,'' ``adds a negligible 
amount of sugar,'' or ``adds a dietarily insignificant amount of 
sugar;'' and
    (iii)(A) It is labeled ``low calorie'' or ``reduced calorie'' or 
bears a relative claim of special dietary usefulness labeled in 
compliance with paragraphs (b)(2), (b)(3), (b)(4), or (b)(5) of this 
section; or
    (B) Such term is immediately accompanied, each time it is used, by 
either the statement ``not a reduced calorie product,'' ``not a low 
calorie product,'' or ``not for weight control.''
    (2) The terms ``no added sugar,'' ``without added sugar,'' or ``no 
sugar added'' may be used only if:
    (i) No amount of sugars, as defined in Sec. 317.309(c)(6)(ii), or 
any other ingredient that contains sugars that functionally substitute 
for added sugars is added during processing or packaging;
    (ii) The product does not contain an ingredient containing added 
sugars such as jam, jelly, or concentrated fruit juice;
    (iii) The sugars content has not been increased above the amount 
present in the ingredients by some means such as the use of enzymes, 
except where the intended functional effect of the process is not to 
increase the sugars content of a product, and a functionally 
insignificant increase in sugars results;
    (iv) The product that it resembles and for which it substitutes 
normally contains added sugars; and
    (v) The product bears a statement that the product is not ``low 
calorie'' or ``calorie reduced'' (unless the product meets the 
requirements for a ``low'' or ``reduced calorie'' product) and that 
directs consumers' attention to the nutrition panel for further 
information on sugar and calorie content.
    (3) Paragraph (c)(1) of this section shall not apply to a factual 
statement that a product, including products intended specifically for 
infants and children less than 2 years of age, is unsweetened or 
contains no added sweeteners in the case of a product that contains 
apparent substantial inherent sugar content, e.g., juices.
    (4) The terms ``reduced sugar,'' ``reduced in sugar,'' ``sugar 
reduced,'' ``less sugar,'' ``lower sugar,'' or ``lower in sugar'' may be 
used on the label or in labeling of products, except meal-type products 
as defined in Sec. 317.313(l), provided that:
    (i) The product contains at least 25 percent less sugars per 
reference amount customarily consumed than an appropriate reference 
product as described in Sec. 317.313(j)(1); and
    (ii) As required in Sec. 317.313(j)(2) for relative claims:
    (A) The identity of the reference product and the percent (or 
fraction) that the sugars differ between the two products are declared 
in immediate proximity to the most prominent such claim (e.g., ``this 
product contains 25 percent less sugar than our regular product''); and
    (B) Quantitative information comparing the level of the sugar in the 
product per labeled serving size with that of the reference product that 
it replaces is declared adjacent to the most prominent claim or to the 
nutrition information (e.g., ``sugar content has been lowered from 8 g 
to 6 g per serving'').
    (5) The terms defined in paragraph (c)(4) of this section may be 
used on the label or in labeling of a meal-type product as defined in 
Sec. 317.313(l), provided that:
    (i) The product contains at least 25 percent less sugars per 100 g 
of product than an appropriate reference product as described in 
Sec. 317.313(j)(1); and
    (ii) As required in Sec. 317.313(j)(2) for relative claims:

[[Page 213]]

    (A) The identity of the reference product and the percent (or 
fraction) that the sugars differ between the two products are declared 
in immediate proximity to the most prominent such claim (e.g., ``reduced 
sugar `product'--25% less sugar than our regular `product' ''); and
    (B) Quantitative information comparing the level of the nutrient in 
the product per specified weight with that of the reference product that 
it replaces is declared adjacent to the most prominent claim or to the 
nutrition information (e.g., ``sugar content has been reduced from 17 g 
per 3 oz to 13 g per 3 oz'').

[60 FR 191, Jan. 3, 1995]