# antioxidant-claims-individual-food — FDA nutrient content claim qualification criteria

For antioxidant-claims-individual-food, claim term is antioxidant; nutrient is antioxidant nutrients with an established RDI; food format is individual food (not a meal or main dish product); threshold is The level of each nutrient that is the subject of the claim is sufficient to qualify for the; cfr section is 21 CFR 101.54(g)(3), recorded from its source on 2026-08-17.

- **Claim ID:** antioxidant-claims-individual-food _(our reading, not quoted from the source)_
- **Claim term:** antioxidant _(verified: appears in the quote below)_
- **Nutrient:** antioxidant nutrients with an established RDI _(our reading, not quoted from the source)_
- **Food format:** individual food (not a meal or main dish product) _(our reading, not quoted from the source)_
- **Threshold:** The level of each nutrient that is the subject of the claim is sufficient to qualify for the _(verified: appears in the quote below)_
- **CFR section:** 21 CFR 101.54(g)(3) _(our reading, not quoted from the source)_
- **Special conditions:** The nutrients that are the subject of the claim have recognized antioxidant activity _(verified: appears in the quote below)_

## What the source says

> A nutrient content claim that characterizes the level of antioxidant nutrients present in a food may be used on the label or in the labeling of that food when: ( 1 ) An RDI has been established for each of the nutrients; ( 2 ) The nutrients that are the subject of the claim have recognized antioxidant activity; that is, when there exists scientific evidence that, following absorption from the gastrointestinal tract, the substance participates in physiological, biochemical, or cellular processes that inactivate free radicals or prevent free radical-initiated chemical reactions; ( 3 ) The level of each nutrient that is the subject of the claim is sufficient to qualify for the <https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-21/section-101.54#p-101.54(b)> § 101.54 (b) , <https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-21/section-101.54#p-101.54(c)> (c) , or <https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-21/section-101.54#p-101.54(e)> (e) claim (e.g., to bear the claim ”high in antioxidant vitamin C,” the product must contain 20 percent or more of the RDI for vitamin C). Beta-carotene may be a subject of the claim when the level of vitamin A present as beta-carotene in the food that bears the claim is sufficient to qualify for the claim. For example, for the claim “good source of antioxidant beta-carotene,” 10 percent or more of the RDI for vitamin A must be present as beta-carotene per reference amount customarily consumed; and

## Source

- https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-21/chapter-I/subchapter-B/part-101/subpart-D/section-101.54

Last verified: 2026-08-17. Review by: 2027-08-17.
Part of [FDA nutrient content claim qualification criteria](https://referencesource.org/fda-nutrient-content-claim-criteria/).