Low Fat Half & Half

 

 

Because our Low Fat variety is produced similar to the Traditional variety, by combining milk and cream, we can label it half & half. Half & half is a standardized food defined in 21 CFR 130.180. It states that half & half is a mixture of milk and cream which contains not less than 10.5% but less than 18% milkfat. In 1993, FDA enacted a new regulation to promote and facilitate the development of healthier foods. This regulation allows food manufacturers to modify a standardized food to meet a defined nutrient content claim. In this case, we have reduced the milkfat in half & half to meet the nutrient content claim “Low Fat.” To meet the criteria for a “Low Fat” claim we have reduced the total fat to below 0.5 grams per serving by using less cream and nonfat milk in the place of whole milk. 21 CFR 130.10 also allows for the addition of other safe and suitable ingredients to improve texture, add flavor, improve appearance or add sweetness so that the fat reduced product is not inferior in performance characteristics to the standardized food defined in 21 CFR 130.180.