Health claims: what they mean

To make a health claim about saturated and trans fats and reduced risk of heart disease, the food ...

• must be low in (or free of) saturated fat and trans fat
• must be limited in cholesterol, sodium and alcohol
• must have more than 40 Calories if the food is not a vegetable or a fruit
• must have a minimum amount of at least one vitamin or mineral
• must, if it is a fat or an oil, be a source of omega-3 or omega-6 polyunsaturated fatty acids

To make a health claim about vegetables and fruit and reduced risk of some types of cancers, the food ...

• must be a fresh, frozen, dried or canned fruit or vegetable; fruit juice; vegetable juice
• must be limited in alcohol

To make a health claim about plant sterols and lowering cholesterol, the food ...

• must contain a minimum level equivalent to 0.65 g of free plant sterols or stanols per reference amount and per serving of stated size;
• must contain at least 10% of the weighted recommended nutrient intake of a vitamin or mineral per reference amount and per serving of stated size;
• must contain 100 mg or less of cholesterol per 100 g of food;
• must NOT contain more than 0.5% alcohol;
• must contain 480 mg or less of sodium per reference amount and per serving of stated size, and per 50 g if the reference amount is 30 g or 30 mL or less;
• must meet the criterion "low in saturated fatty acids."