- Food Law -

Special purpose foods

These are foods that meet a particular nutritive need. The most common of these are a low energy of 'low-joule' foods and 'carbohydrate-modified' foods. Others include low-sodium, gluten-free and low-lactose foods.

A 'low-joule' food must meet specific energy requirements to ensure that there is significant energy reduction compared with an unmodified form of the food. For example, a 'low-joule' soft drink must contain less than one-quarter of the energy (kilojoules) contained in a normal soft drink. In addition, the label must state if the drink has been sweetened with artificial sweeteners, and also the number of kilojoules in 100 millilitres of the drink. In the U.S.A., in addition to 'low' energy foods, there is a law that permits a label to use the term 'reduced' energy. Although these foods contain more energy than 'low-energy' foods they have at least one-third lower energy than a corresponding unmodified food.

A modified carbohydrate food is not a low-energy food and is not useful in weight-reducing diets. These foods contain a form of carbohydrate that differs from that in the original food. As such, in limited amounts, they may be useful for diabetics. Foods that are labelled 'no added sugar' are not necessarily lower in energy (kilojoules) or have less sugar than some other foods. For example, even when no sugar has been added, the natural sugars present in some orange juices can be as high as that in many soft drinks. Check the label to find the energy content of foods such as carbohydrate modified, no added sugar and low joule foods and then compare this with the energy content of an unmodified version of the food in the energy charts.