Compare a front-of-pack claim with the nutrition panel without mixing their roles
Preserve the exact claim, identify its reference basis and keep your own quantity comparison separate from a compliance judgment.
A phrase on the front of a package and a quantity in its nutrition table answer different questions. Start by copying both exactly. Then identify what the phrase refers to before deciding whether your numerical comparison addresses it.
Save the whole claim and its qualifier
Photograph the front wording together with any asterisk or nearby explanation. Look for a comparison product, serving reference or preparation instruction elsewhere on the package. Do not shorten a phrase in a way that removes the detail needed to understand it.
The FDA distinguishes several categories of label claims, including nutrient-content and health claims, in its label-claims overview. This guide uses that distinction to organize your notes; it does not determine whether a particular manufacturer's claim meets every legal condition.
Build a separate arithmetic check
Imagine a fictional package says reduced sugar compared with our original recipe. The current nutrition panel reports 6 g sugars per 40 g, and a clearly identified comparison panel reports 8 g per 40 g. The displayed difference is 2 g per equal serving; relative to 8 g, that is 2 ÷ 8 × 100 = 25%.
Save that as a calculation from the two stated inputs. Do not describe the calculation alone as proof that the marketing claim complies with all relevant rules. You still need to know whether the comparison source, category and market match the claim's requirements.
Identify the question you can answer
If the package instead compares recipes using different serving sizes, normalize the quantities before making an arithmetic comparison. If the reference product is unspecified, record reference unavailable. A current panel cannot reconstruct a historical recipe's exact values.
Keep an independent product comparison separate. Your question may be how two products compare per 100 g today, while the front claim refers to one manufacturer's earlier product. Those are different comparisons even when they involve the same nutrient.
For your final note, use three headings: exact package claim, supporting reference found, and calculation performed. Add unresolved questions beneath them. This structure helps prevent a front label from replacing the detailed evidence and prevents your own arithmetic from turning into an unsupported regulatory verdict. A claim about one nutrient also does not summarize every characteristic of the food or its suitability for an individual.