Pita Bread calorie amount too good to be true. How do I calculate actual calories?

Kst76
Kst76 Posts: 935 Member
edited March 2019 in Food and Nutrition
I have been buying Papa Filini's Pita bread at the Jewel Osco grocery store here in Chicago. The label claims, 1 whole pita amounts to 100 calories. The whole wheat pita is 80 calories for one whole pita.
The pita is of normal size and quit "fluffy".
This is what the label says. And is that enough to calculate calories.

Serving Size : 1 pita ( 2 pockets )
Servings per container : 5

Total fat : 1 gram
Sat Fat : 0 gram
Cholesterol : 0mg
Sodium : 170 mg
Total Carb 29 gram
Fiber 1 gram
Sugars 1 gram
Protein 4 gram

Does this sound like 100 calorie per pita? When I calculate I get get 141 calories.

Replies

  • diannethegeek
    diannethegeek Posts: 14,776 Member
    Based on the macros, it certainly seems they're fudging or rounding that calorie number more than I'd expect. They're allowed a certain amount of leeway on their label, but 40% seems a bit much.

    Unfortunately, I have no idea how to figure out which numbers are right. I suppose you could ask the company, but who knows if they'd fess up to this kind of discrepancy.
  • Spadesheart
    Spadesheart Posts: 479 Member
    Yeah that's the amount for 1/2 of a normal pita. I make pita sandwiches often, as 80 calories for the bread in a full sized sandwich is still amazing.

    I'm guess that's a typo and just count it as the half?
  • puffbrat
    puffbrat Posts: 2,806 Member
    I buy pitas at the store that are 130 calories for half of a pita. 100 calories for a whole one that isn't really small sounds suspicious.
  • MelanieCN77
    MelanieCN77 Posts: 4,047 Member
    I buy a brand called Masada kosher pita, they are made without oil and the entire wheat pita is listed as 160. I eat them a lot, the calories seem to be accurate, the macros for HALF the pita at 80 cals are:

    3g protein
    18g carbs
    0g fat, sugar
    1g fiber
  • RelCanonical
    RelCanonical Posts: 3,882 Member
    I Googled the brand and it appears that many people are thinking the number is wrong, too. They don't even list a gram amount for what "one pita" constitutes, which makes me believe that they did not follow standard process for the industry when constructing their food label. Manufacturers are expected to self-enforce with regulations of the NLEA. There's not a whole lot you can do. You could try reporting it to the FDA, but it sounds like they don't really have any processes in place for enforcement. Reminds me of the MPAA rating system (for movies).

    Got my info from here: https://health.usnews.com/health-news/blogs/eat-run/2012/08/21/when-nutrition-labels-lie

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