[Code of Federal Regulations]

[Title 9, Volume 2]

[Revised as of January 1, 2006]

From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access

[CITE: 9CFR317.361]



[Page 221-223]

 

                  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. 317.361  Nutrient content claims for the sodium content.



    (a) General requirements. A claim about the level of sodium in 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) Sodium content claims. (1) The terms ``sodium free,'' ``free of 

sodium,'' ``no sodium,'' ``zero sodium,'' ``without sodium,'' ``trivial 

source of sodium,'' ``negligible source of sodium,'' or ``dietarily 

insignificant source of sodium'' may be used on the label or in labeling 

of products, provided that:

    (i) The product contains less than 5 milligrams (mg) of sodium per 

reference amount customarily consumed and per labeled serving size or, 

in the case of a meal-type product or a main-



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dish product, less than 5 mg of sodium per labeled serving size;

    (ii) The product contains no ingredient that is sodium chloride or 

is generally understood by consumers to contain sodium 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 sodium,'' ``adds a negligible 

amount of sodium'' or ``adds a dietarily insignificant amount of 

sodium''; and

    (iii) If the product meets these conditions without the benefit of 

special processing, alteration, formulation, or reformulation to lower 

the sodium 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 ``very low sodium'' or ``very low in sodium'' may be 

used on the label or in labeling of products, except meal-type products 

as defined in Sec. 317.313(l) and main-dish products as defined in 

Sec. 317.313(m), provided that:

    (i)(A) The product has a reference amount customarily consumed 

greater than 30 grams (g) or greater than 2 tablespoons (tbsp) and 

contains 35 mg or less sodium 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 contains 35 mg or less sodium 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); 

and

    (ii) If the product meets these conditions without the benefit of 

special processing, alteration, formulation, or reformulation to lower 

the sodium 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) and main-dish product as defined in Sec. 317.313(m), 

provided that:

    (i) The product contains 35 mg or less of sodium 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 sodium 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.

    (4) The terms ``low sodium,'' ``low in sodium,'' ``little sodium,'' 

``contains a small amount of sodium,'' or ``low source of sodium'' may 

be used on the label and in labeling of products, except meal-type 

products as defined in Sec. 317.313(l) and main-dish products as 

defined in Sec. 317.313(m), provided that:

    (i)(A) The product has a reference amount customarily consumed 

greater than 30 g or greater than 2 tbsp and contains 140 mg or less 

sodium 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 contains 140 mg or less sodium 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); 

and

    (ii) If the product meets these conditions without the benefit of 

special processing, alteration, formulation, or reformulation to lower 

the sodium 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.

    (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) and main-dish product as defined in Sec. 317.313(m), 

provided that:

    (i) The product contains 140 mg or less sodium per 100 g of product; 

and

    (ii) If the product meets these conditions without the benefit of 

special processing, alteration, formulation, or



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reformulation to lower the sodium 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.

    (6) The terms ``reduced sodium,'' ``reduced in sodium,'' ``sodium 

reduced,'' ``less sodium,'' ``lower sodium,'' or ``lower in sodium'' may 

be used on the label or in labeling of products, except meal-type 

products as defined in Sec. 317.313(l) and main-dish products as 

defined in Sec. 317.313(m), provided that:

    (i) The product contains at least 25 percent less sodium 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 sodium differs between the two products are declared 

in immediate proximity to the most prominent such claim (e.g., ``reduced 

sodium `product', 50 percent less sodium than regular `product' ''); and

    (B) Quantitative information comparing the level of sodium 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., ``sodium content has been lowered from 300 

to 150 mg per serving'').

    (iii) Claims described in paragraph (b)(6) of this section may not 

be made on the label or in labeling of a product if the nutrient content 

of the reference product meets the definition for ``low sodium.''

    (7) The terms defined in paragraph (b)(6) of this section may be 

used on the label or in labeling of a meal-type product as defined in 

Sec. 317.313(l) and main-dish product as defined in Sec. 317.313(m), 

provided that:

    (i) The product contains at least 25 percent less sodium 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 sodium differs between the two products are declared 

in immediate proximity to the most prominent such claim (e.g., ``reduced 

sodium `product'--30% less sodium per 3 oz than our `regular product' 

''); and

    (B) Quantitative information comparing the level of sodium 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., ``sodium content has been reduced from 220 

mg per 3 oz to 150 mg per 3 oz'').

    (iii) Claims described in paragraph (b)(7) of this section may not 

be made on the label or in labeling of products if the nutrient content 

of the reference product meets the definition for ``low sodium.''

    (c) The term ``salt'' is not synonymous with ``sodium.'' Salt refers 

to sodium chloride. However, references to salt content such as 

``unsalted,'' ``no salt,'' ``no salt added'' are potentially misleading.

    (1) The term ``salt free'' may be used on the label or in labeling 

of products only if the product is ``sodium free'' as defined in 

paragraph (b)(1) of this section.

    (2) The terms ``unsalted,'' ``without added salt,'' and ``no salt 

added'' may be used on the label or in labeling of products only if:

    (i) No salt is added during processing;

    (ii) The product that it resembles and for which it substitutes is 

normally processed with salt; and

    (iii) If the product is not sodium free, the statement, ``not a 

sodium free product'' or ``not for control of sodium in the diet'' 

appears adjacent to the nutrition information of the product bearing the 

claim.

    (3) Paragraph (c)(2) of this section shall not apply to a factual 

statement that a product intended specifically for infants and children 

less than 2 years of age is unsalted, provided such statement refers to 

the taste of the product and is not false or otherwise misleading.



[60 FR 192, Jan. 3, 1995, as amended at 69 FR 58802, Oct. 1, 2004]



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