Can You Label Your Food Light or Lite? The FDA Rule
Light and lite feel like free marketing words, and they are two of the most misused claims on a label. The FDA gives light a real definition with numbers, plus one exception people forget. Here is what you are actually promising.
Light usually means a third fewer calories or half the fat
For most foods, light or lite means one of two things compared to the regular version: at least a third fewer calories, or 50 percent less fat. Which one applies depends on the food. If it gets less than half its calories from fat, you can go the calorie route or the fat route. If it gets half or more of its calories from fat, light has to mean 50 percent less fat. Either way it is a comparison, so the label has to name the regular food it is measured against and by how much it changed.
Light in sodium is a separate 50 percent rule
Light in sodium, or lite in sodium, means the food has at least 50 percent less sodium than the regular version. The label has to say light in sodium so it is clear that is what changed, not the calories or the fat.
Light can describe color or texture, if you say so
There is one honest exception. Light can describe a look or feel, like light brown sugar or a light, airy texture, as long as you spell out what you mean right in the phrase. The qualifier has to be there and be at least half the size of the word light, so light brown sugar is fine while a bare light on a full-calorie food is not.
What Nutripane does and does not do
Nutripane calculates calories and fat from USDA values and builds your panel and label. It does not compare your food to a regular version or verify a light claim, because that needs the reference food's numbers next to yours. Treat Nutripane's figures as a solid estimate for your side of the comparison, confirm the reduction before you print, and check the current FDA rule.
Questions
What does light mean on a food label?
For most foods, light or lite means at least a third fewer calories or 50 percent less fat than the regular version. If the food gets half or more of its calories from fat, light has to mean 50 percent less fat. Light in sodium is a separate claim that means 50 percent less sodium.
Can I call my product light if it just looks light?
Only if you say what you mean. Light can describe color or texture, like light brown sugar or light in texture, as long as the qualifier is right there in the phrase and at least half the size of the word light. A bare light on a regular food reads as a calorie or fat claim and has to meet those limits.
Keep reading
This page is general information, not legal advice. Cottage food and food labeling rules vary by state and change over time. Confirm current requirements with your state's cottage food program and the FDA before you sell. See your state's rules or how to label your product.