Washington, Jan. 11 - The Food and Drug Administration said Thursday it would allow the expanded use of "lean" on some convenience foods that meet certain low-fat guidelines.
The new definition would allow food makers to label foods such as burritos, pizza rolls, egg rolls and sandwiches as "lean" under certain conditions. Such foods aren't considered main dishes under FDA rules and until now weren't eligible to use a "lean" label because they typically weigh less than 6 ounces.
The foods still have to meet FDA criteria for fat and cholesterol. The foods must have less than 8 grams of total fat, 3.5 grams or less of saturated fat and 80 milligrams or less of cholesterol.
The FDA said it was changing its food-labeling rules in response to a request from Nestle Prepared Foods Co., a division of Nestle SA. (NSRGY).
The new "lean" rules become effective Friday.