[Code of Federal Regulations]

[Title 9, Volume 2]

[Revised as of January 1, 2007]

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

[CITE: 9CFR317.360]



[Page 219-221]

 

                  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) 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 does 

not provide 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) and main-dish product as defined in Sec. 317.313(m), 

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) and main-dish 

products as defined in Sec. 317.313(m), 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:



[[Page 220]]



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

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., ``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 or a 

main-dish 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



[[Page 221]]



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) and main-dish products as defined in 

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

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:

    (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, as amended at 69 FR 58802, Oct. 1, 2004]