What is the legal definition for “trans fat free?” Can a restaurant or product make this claim?
(September 2007) To date, FDA has not established a definition for “trans fat free.” Therefore this claim cannot be made on food labels or on menus and menu boards, or in food marketing. Per FDA regulations the term “free” is a nutrient content descriptor. The regulations regarding the use of nutrient content claims are specific; they are intended to ensure that the descriptive terms that characterize or compare nutrient levels are used consistently for all types of food products and are thus meaningful to consumers. In general, nutrient content claim regulations apply only to nutrients or dietary substances that have an established daily value; no daily value has been established for trans fat. In addition to “free,” the existing regulations disallow trans fat claims using the following terms: Free, Zero, No, Without, Trivial Source of, Negligible Source of, Dietarily Insignificant Source of, Low, Little, Few, Contains a Small Amount of, Low Source of, Reduced/Less, Lower, Fewer, and
