Читать книгу Food Regulation - Neal D. Fortin - Страница 224

The FDCA provides strict regulation for a claim that “characterizes the level of any nutrient” on the label or labeling of the food.⁸⁶ FDA chose the term “nutrient content claim,” but “nutrient level description” might more precisely convey the language in the Act. This distinction is important because nutrient claims that only indicate the factual quantity of a nutrient without characterizing the level are not regulated as nutrient content claims.

Nutrient content claims characterize the level of a nutrient. For instance, “High in antioxidants” characterizes the level as “high.” As an alternative, a quantitative statement of the presence of a component of a food is not a nutrient content claim because it does not characterize the level; for example, “Contains X mg flavonoids per serving.” Of course, any such quantitative statement must be truthful and nonmisleading.

Similarly, nutrient descriptions that only indicate the function of a nutrient without characterizing the level are not nutrient content claims. For example, “Calcium helps build strong bones” is a structure–function claim not a nutrient content claim. (Of course, one must be mindful of potential implied nutrient content claims if a nutrient is mentioned on a label.)