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FDA
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Carbohydrates
Today, consumers often see foods labeled with words such as "low," "reduced," or "free" to describe the amount of carbohydrate in a product. FDA is aware that many processed food manufacturers are making such claims in response to consumer interest in popular low carbohydrate diets.
These claims are nutrient content claims (i.e., they characterize the amount of a nutrient, carbohydrate, in a food) and must be made in accordance with an authorizing regulation. Currently, FDA's regulations do not define any terms to describe the amount of carbohydrate in food, although FDA has defined several terms to describe the amount of other nutrients in food (e.g., "light," "low fat," "reduced calorie," "sugar free," and "low cholesterol"). Under the Nutrition Labeling and Education Act of 1990 and FDA's implementing regulations (Title 21, Code of Federal Regulations Part 101), nutrient content claims that are not already defined by FDA can be requested through a petition process.
FDA has received petitions from industry asking FDA to define certain terms to characterize the level of carbohydrate in food for use in carbohydrate nutrient content claims, including "low carbohydrate," "reduced carbohydrate," and "carbohydrate free." To ensure that these claims are consistent with other nutrient content claims and are not false or misleading, FDA has filed these petitions in accordance with its regulations and intends to initiate rulemaking proceedings for nutrient content claims for carbohydrate. In addition, the agency intends to provide guidance to food manufacturers on the use of the term "net" in relation to the carbohydrate content of food.