Can reported calorie contents be trusted?

tpalit2001

So today, I woke up late and skipped breakfast. So I had 350 calories to spend on whatever I wanted. And I wanted chicken tenders, which were marked at 320 calories at my university cafeteria. "Great", I thought, and I ordered one serving, and dug into it. Halfway into it, I got suspicious of the low calorie content and decided to take home half of the plate to weigh on my food scale.

And it looks like the the 320 calories is more like 640 calories. Ugghhh!

So I ask myself, how often are reported calorie contents off by so much? Is there any regulatory body that is supposed to keep an eye out for this kind of thing?

cwolfman13

Did they give you a double serving? There's about 20% allowable error.

seska422

Restaurant/cafeteria calorie reports can only be as accurate as the person handling the food. In other words, not very.

However, having a calorie amount listed is still better than not having one because that gives a starting estimate. Otherwise, you're just guessing. An educated calorie counter can do what you did and realize when there may be issues.

robm1brown

They think they are being nice right loading your plate up extra for free. Like when your favourite barman doubles you up for free.

usmcmp

For food service it's going to be off by a bit more than something like a fast food restaurant. There are people serving and the serving sizes can vary greatly. Combine that with the allowable error and there's no telling how many calories you're getting. It's why when people complain about not losing weight despite being at a deficit one they they want to consider is cutting back on eating things they personally did not prepare.