Nutritional Claims
Eating well is about knowing your food
At Woolworths, we understand the importance of knowing how to make fresh, healthy food choices. To help, here's an overview of what's currently meant by some common food phrases:
No added sugar: The product does not contain any type of added sugar but can contain natural sugars such as fructose which will be present if there is any fruit in the product and lactose - present if milk or yoghurt are ingredients.
No added salt: The product only contains its natural level of salt, and doesn't have any added sodium chloride or any ingredient containing sodium chloride.
Salt-reduced: The product's salt content should be at least 25% less than the original product.
Gluten-free: Gluten is a protein found in wheat, rye and barley. It may also be present as a contaminant in oats. Gluten-free means no detectable gluten may be contained in the food.
Fibre increased: Products such as breads can only make this claim if they contain at least 3g of dietary fibre per serving.
Light/lite: While commonly used, this claim doesn't necessarily mean a product is low in fat or energy. The term may refer to the texture, colour or taste of a product. However, by law, the characteristic that makes the product 'light' must be stated on the label.
Low joule/low calorie: This means that a single serve of this product (the size of which is specified on the label) will have no more than 170KJ (40 Calories), or, in the case of liquids, no more than 80 kJ (20 Cals) per 100 mL.
Fat-reduced/Low fat: If a product makes this claim, it must contain less than 3% fat (if it is a solid food) or 1.5% fat (if it is a liquid food).
Fat free: For a product to be classified 'fat free', the fat content must be virtually negligible - i.e. less than 0.15%.
Percentage of fat: Fat percentages tell you how much fat content is in a specific product based on a 100g serve. Remember when comparing fat percentages, that 92% fat-free is actually the same as 8% fat!
Colours, flavours and preservatives: Colours, flavours and preservatives are all additives used for a range of purposes - whether to improve the taste or appearance of a processed food, improve its keeping quality, or preserve it to extend its shelf life. All additives must be assessed and approved by Food Standards Australia New Zealand, and must be used in the lowest quantity that will achieve their purpose.
Additives are often represented by a particular chemical name or number.
For example:
Colour (tartrazine)
OR
Colour (102)
Where can I find out more?
The following resources* are Government endorsed and provide a range of useful information about nutritional claims and food additives.
*Links to non-Woolworths websites within this section have been provided for information purposes only. Woolworths is not responsible for the content on those websites.
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