# reduced-sugar-main-dish — FDA nutrient content claim qualification criteria

For reduced-sugar-main-dish, claim term is reduced sugar; nutrient is sugar; food format is main dish; threshold is at least 25 percent less sugars per 100 g of food than an appropriate reference food; cfr section is 21 CFR 101.60(c)(6)(i), recorded from its source on 2026-08-17.

- **Claim ID:** reduced-sugar-main-dish _(our reading, not quoted from the source)_
- **Claim term:** reduced sugar _(verified: appears in the quote below)_
- **Nutrient:** sugar _(our reading, not quoted from the source)_
- **Food format:** main dish _(our reading, not quoted from the source)_
- **Threshold:** at least 25 percent less sugars per 100 g of food than an appropriate reference food _(verified: appears in the quote below)_
- **CFR section:** 21 CFR 101.60(c)(6)(i) _(our reading, not quoted from the source)_

## What the source says

> The terms “reduced sugar,” “reduced in sugar,” “sugar reduced,” “less sugar,” “lower sugar” or “lower in sugar” may be used on the label or in labeling of foods, except meal products as defined in <https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-21/section-101.13#p-101.13(l)> § 101.13(l) , main dish products as defined in <https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-21/section-101.13#p-101.13(m)> § 101.13(m) , and dietary supplements of vitamins or minerals, provided that: ( i ) The food contains at least 25 percent less sugar per reference amount customarily consumed than an appropriate reference food as described in <https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-21/section-101.13#p-101.13(j)(1)> § 101.13(j)(1) ; and ( ii ) As required in <https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-21/section-101.13#p-101.13(j)(2)> § 101.13(j)(2) for relative claims: ( A ) The identity of the reference food and the percent (or fraction) that the sugar differs between the two foods are declared in immediate proximity to the most prominent such claim (e.g., “these corn flakes contain 25 percent less sugar than our sugar coated corn flakes”); and ( B ) Quantitative information comparing the level of the sugar in the product per labeled serving with that of the reference food that it replaces (e.g., “Sugar content has been lowered from 8 g to 6 g per serving.”) is declared adjacent to the most prominent claim or to the nutrition label, except that if the nutrition label is on the information panel, the quantitative information may be located elsewhere on the information panel in accordance with <https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-21/section-101.2> § 101.2 . ( 6 ) The terms defined in <https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-21/section-101.60#p-101.60(c)(5)> paragraph (c)(5) of this section may be used on the label or in the labeling of a meal product as defined in <https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-21/section-101.13#p-101.13(l)> § 101.13(l) and a main dish product as defined in <https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-21/section-101.13#p-101.13(m)> § 101.13(m) , provided that: ( i ) The food contains at least 25 percent less sugars per 100 g of food than an appropriate reference food

## Source

- https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-21/chapter-I/subchapter-B/part-101/subpart-D/section-101.60

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/).