By Truman Lewis
ConsumerAffairs.com
January 12, 2007
What's lean? Would you believe burritos, pizza rolls, egg rolls?
Odd as it sounds, they're among the foods that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) says can now be described as "lean" if they have less than 8 g total fat, 3.5 g or less saturated fat, and less than 80 mg cholesterol as determined by a standardized method of testing.
The FDA says it's trying to "provide reliable information that would assist consumers in maintaining healthy dietary practices" by dangling the "lean" carrot in front of what it calls "mixed dishes not measurable with a cup."
FDA says it's a recognition that meals-on-the-go have made their way into consumers' diets and it's trying to provide dietary guidance through what's called the reference amount customarily consumed (RACC) (140 g). Any food with a RACC of less than 80 mg cholesterol is on its way to joining the lean team.
Prior to the new rule, the nutrient content claim "lean" could be applied only to seafood and game meat as well as what FDA describes as "meal and main dish products regulated by FDA that meet the criteria set forth by the agency for these categories." Got that?
