Who is in charge of serving sizes on packages?

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  • Pandorian
    Pandorian Posts: 2,055 MFP Moderator
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    The servings sizes are set by the FDA. For each category of food item, there is a RACC (recommended amount customarily consumed). The food companies are not evil. The serving sizes have not changed in a long time, but our portion sizes in America have gotten a lot bigger.
    What I am reading as your intended "serving sizes" as in "suggested servings" as per the food pyramid etc recommendations where a "serving" of meat is 5.5 ounces sure that's "set" based on meeting a 2000 calorie a day diet... but there's "no rules" to what size of package a company 'puts their product in' and then labels it for...
    take I dunno... potato chips... 14 chips is a "Serving" for the snack size bag that holds something close to 3x that... do you stop at the 14 chips or do you eat the whole package that the food items are packaged in.
    Pick up a "ready made" baked good at a convenience store, chances are that one package is at least 2 if not 4 servings IE the nutrition is for 1/2 or 1/4 of the good packaged... I certainly don't eat 1/4 of a muffin, I might make 4 smaller muffins to achieve the same thing but when you just grab a package and assume it's ONE item, that must be ONE serving... then the "serving sizes" makers use are entirely arbitrary and "evil"
  • rabblerabble
    rabblerabble Posts: 471 Member
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    Those flavored Coffeemate Creamers list a serving size as just one Tablespoon (with about 30-35 calories each). I figure I was easily drinking several 100 calories a day of the junk before I went to drinking coffee black.
  • Athena53
    Athena53 Posts: 717 Member
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    I'd be very happy if they included an extra column showing the nutritional information for the whole container. That way you could figure out what portion of the container you were likely to eat. I automatically do the math now.
  • ThatSoundsHard
    ThatSoundsHard Posts: 475 Member
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    The servings sizes are set by the FDA. For each category of food item, there is a RACC (recommended amount customarily consumed). The food companies are not evil. The serving sizes have not changed in a long time, but our portion sizes in America have gotten a lot bigger.

    This.
  • MrsGriffin67
    MrsGriffin67 Posts: 485 Member
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    Green Giant - Valley Fresh Steamer Macaroni and Cheese Sauce With Broccoli

    This stuff is DIVINE! BUT the nutritional label states the number of servings per container is...wait for it...ABOUT 1 SERVING. WTF? About 1 serving? Either it is a serving or it isn't...c'mon now. I still eat it for lunch on the days I work. Only 250 calories and the portion is fairly large.

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  • onwarddownward
    onwarddownward Posts: 1,683 Member
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    I have always wondered who is in charge of serving sizes on packages.

    Sometimes it makes me think they do it just to mess with us!

    I grabbed a dill pickle half to put in my lunch and when I looked at the label for my diary and it said a serving was HALF of a HALF.

    Why not just say its the whole half for 10 calories?

    SMH! LOL

    :mad: :mad: :mad: :mad: :mad: Satan. :mad: :mad: :mad: :mad: :mad:
  • crisbabe81
    crisbabe81 Posts: 170
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    And using the poptart as an example-they put TWO in a pouch but its not recloseable. Now what do you do?
    LOL

    Some good examples and glad I'm not the only one seeing this.

    I had no idea Ramen was 2 servings. Wow! I'll have to tell my hubby that.

    As for "if everyone ate the serving size there wouldn't be any overweight people"....there would also be a lot of cranky upset irritable skinny people who have 1/2 chunks of pickles, 1/2 opened cans of tuna and one stale pop tart laying around their kitchen LOL


    By far the best response... You had me giggling. So glad I'm alone at work!
  • nilbogger
    nilbogger Posts: 870 Member
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    Green Giant - Valley Fresh Steamer Macaroni and Cheese Sauce With Broccoli

    This stuff is DIVINE! BUT the nutritional label states the number of servings per container is...wait for it...ABOUT 1 SERVING. WTF? About 1 serving? Either it is a serving or it isn't...c'mon now. I still eat it for lunch on the days I work. Only 250 calories and the portion is fairly large.

    ColorBoxImage.aspx?ImageId=%7B454CE525-910C-4002-B14C-57D27A33E2FB%7D&Width=646&Height=426

    Similar to the Progesso soups.... serving size two cups, servings per container about two. Well, I usually eat that soup at work... I'm not going to bust out a measuring cup and figure out how many cups are actually in there.
  • herblackwings39
    herblackwings39 Posts: 3,930 Member
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    I get irritated by serving sizes quite often. If one pop tart is a serving package the damn things that way. Then there's the soup that is 2 1/4 servings per container...seriously? Or my favourite was the whole wheat pasta that according to the nutrition label was 7 servings per box, but cooking directions said 1/4 of a box was a serving. I used to go by the cooking directions and used the nutrition label just to get the calories off of. Stupid serving sizes.
  • herblackwings39
    herblackwings39 Posts: 3,930 Member
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    Can any adult seriously just eat an actual serving of cereal? Why say 3/4 cup instead of the full cup. Just say a cup and be done with it. I can't eat just one cup. I eat Cheerios and 2 cups is a good portion without it being overly piggish. One cup barely covers the bottom of my cereal bowl.

    Get smaller bowls. :wink:

    I almost always eat two servings of cereal as well. Tuna was another good example. I eat the whole can most times.

    It has a lot to do with how you are used to eating. I don't have a problem with 3/4 cup of cereal, or the standard serving of tuna either so long as I'm making tuna salad sandwiches from it. But I have a very hard time limiting myself to a single biscuit at breakfast. There's nearly as many calories there as in a standard serving of pasta, and you only get one? ONLY ONE? All of my life I've typically eaten two, one with butter and the other with jam, and often I had another starch, grits, on the side. Or maybe sausage gravy made with flour. Occasionally I still have a carb heavy breakfast like that, but it's a rare treat these days.

    Bagels tend to be even more expensive in terms of calories, but at least a single bagel seems like a normal, full sized serving.

    Great....now I want biscuits, gravy, and grits......
  • lillith1991
    lillith1991 Posts: 70
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    1/2 a can of tuna? Really people? Nope. Does not compute.
  • jbruced
    jbruced Posts: 210 Member
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    Seriously good question. I've always wondered why someone figured there was 2 1/2 servings in a tiny, 5 oz can of tuna :grumble:
    Especially since there is only 2.25 ounces of actual tuna in the little can.
  • pittbullgirl
    pittbullgirl Posts: 341 Member
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    And using the poptart as an example-they put TWO in a pouch but its not recloseable. Now what do you do?
    LOL

    Some good examples and glad I'm not the only one seeing this.

    I had no idea Ramen was 2 servings. Wow! I'll have to tell my hubby that.

    As for "if everyone ate the serving size there wouldn't be any overweight people"....there would also be a lot of cranky upset irritable skinny people who have 1/2 chunks of pickles, 1/2 opened cans of tuna and one stale pop tart laying around their kitchen LOL


    :laugh: :laugh: :laugh:

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