The label on the mint says sugar-free. The can of spray says fat-free. The cracker box boasts zero trans fat. Sounds healthy—until you read the fine print.

Here’s the catch: In the U.S., if a serving contains less than 0.5 grams of something like sugar, fat, or trans fat, companies are legally allowed to round that down to zero. That’s right—trace amounts don’t count… as long as they’re tiny per serving.

Take a “sugar-free” Tic Tac. It’s made with sugar. But because a single mint weighs just 0.49 grams, it stays under the limit. Voilà—sugar-free. Cooking spray? The serving size is “one-quarter second spray.” That’s not a practical measurement—it’s marketing. Powdered creamers, diet sweets, gum, even fat-free butter spreads—most of them play the same game. The trick? Make the serving size so small that you’ll never notice what adds up.

It’s a clever use of math. Half a gram per serving times five servings is 2.5 grams of sugar or fat—but it’s still legally “zero” per label. Multiply that over a day or a week, and suddenly, you’re not quite sure what you’ve been eating.

So what’s the takeaway?

Labels are allowed to whisper zero… when they mean not quite. But there’s something comforting in knowing Jehovah never plays that game. His words are always straight. His promises never depend on fine print or rounded-off measurements. “Let God be found true, even if every man be found a liar.” —Romans 3:4

When He says something is pure, it is. When He says something is wrong, it is. And when He says He loves you? That’s not 0.49 grams of affection. That’s the real thing.