Servings Per Container on food labels

SeanD2407

Are they really accurate? I'm not talking about serving size... i'm talking strictly the amount of servings it claims to have.
I have a box of pumpkin spice flavored cheerios for example.

140 calories serving size 1 cup or 36grams. ("8 servings per container")

When i poured all of it into a zero'ed out scale there was a total of 224 grams on cereal in there or just barley 6 servings.

Can I still trust that a serving is only 36 grams, or do I have to take the total of grams in the box 224 divide by 8 making a real serving size of 28 grams.

Which is more likely. That the nutrition label has fewer servings than it claims or that a serving size is smaller than the box claims.

It may not seem like much but for logging purposes if i eat that throughout the week that's about 280 calorie difference which can contribute to half a pound a week if it is indeed 8 servings and not 6 which it should be if their serving size is accurate.

Serving per container or serving size when they are not = which is more accurate to rely on.

lesdarts180

My box of Cheerios (purchased in the UK) gives a serving size of 30g.

But the only accurate method is to weigh your serving. You can have as much or as little as you want, weigh it and use the "per 100g" information to determine the calories (and other values). Make sure you find a database entry that uses the 100g information.
I have my cheerios half and half with another cereal so I only have 20g each time.

dragon_girl26

I would go by the weight of the serving size. In other words, if one serving of pasta, dry, is 56g, then that's what I would weigh as a serving. Most of the time I have found the total number of servings on a package to be inaccurate, or they will say "about 2.5 servings" or something similar. Legally, IRC, there can be a certain percentage of variation, but calorie info is based on the serving weight provided.
This is the reason people here often advise to weigh even single serving packages. The package may say "one serving", but the gram weight is different. Single slices of bread are a good example of this (yeah, I know, usually not in a single serving packet but still true), as are candy bars, yogurt, etc..

amart4224

In my experience, sometimes the number of servings is a little off. For example, the tubs of cottage cheese that I buy say a serving is 113g and there are 4 servings in the container. But a lot of times after I've weighed out the first 3, the last serving comes up a few (4 or 5) grams short. Maybe it's a slight inaccuracy with my home scale, maybe they allow a little variation, but whatever the case, I go by the nutrition facts for one serving when I'm calculating calories.

freda666

Personally, I think "servings" should simply be ignored on the basis that I do not want a food manufacturer telling me how much to eat. Who needs them, really?

I weigh what I want and use the "calories per x grams" info on the pack to calculate the calories in that portion.

heybales

Forget servings per container - that's totally a rounded figure based on package weight / serving weight.

Some packages they weigh very precisely, like when it's expensive, others I've seen are pretty sloppy.

So that rounding also takes in to account you getting more of the product than package says. They always seem to err up, not down. The screams that would arise from being shorted - no good.
So you should scream on your example!

Nutritional info is based on the stated weight of the serving size.
And as commented, in US can be upwards of 20% off anyway due to variances in the fact food content changes.

So weigh what you ate, divided by weight per serving. Done.

SeanD2407

heybales wrote: »

Forget servings per container - that's totally a rounded figure based on package weight / serving weight.

Some packages they weigh very precisely, like when it's expensive, others I've seen are pretty sloppy.

So that rounding also takes in to account you getting more of the product than package says. They always seem to err up, not down. The screams that would arise from being shorted - no good.
So you should scream on your example!

Nutritional info is based on the stated weight of the serving size.
And as commented, in US can be upwards of 20% off anyway due to variances in the fact food content changes.

So weigh what you ate, divided by weight per serving. Done.

I weighed on of those pre sliced cheese cakes. It said 8 servings per container. (cut into 8 servings) But based on weight and volume it was about 11 servings... sneaky sneaky

cmriverside

I think the actual amount in any package seems to be always more than the stated amount. That makes sense as they don't want to be called out for not giving consumers the amount stated. That would be really bad for marketing.

dragon_girl26

freda78 wrote: »

Personally, I think "servings" should simply be ignored on the basis that I do not want a food manufacturer telling me how much to eat. Who needs them, really?

Right?? I mean, really that small tub of ice cream is more like two servings in my house instead of the four that the label suggests...lol

NovusDies

It is rare for me to find a product that the weighed servings matches the number on the label. I might notice it more than most people because I have adapted to eating most of my food in full or half increments of serving sizes. It is common for me to eat 28, 42, or 56g of cheese for instance. It is one of the many ways I have cut down on logging time and trained myself to approximate servings when I do not have access to a scale.

heybales

Probably half the stuff I deal with says "about x servings per package" anyway.
Even soup.

Which is annoying, some of the soups, forgot what brand, nutrition label is in volume (mL), but the can is total in weight (ounces & grams).
And 1 mL is 1 g only applies to water.
Very annoying, at least it's semi-low cal.

VegjoyP

Use a food scale. The labels have a legal margin of error plus the volume/ density/ hydration even can affect foods. I have been using a scale for several years, even my protein powder.

Luke_rabbit

I would trust that the calories per 36 grams is accurate.

I would also send the company an email saying the package had only 224 grams in it vs. whatever the front of the box says it should have.

For 2 reasons:

One, they might have an issue with the machine in the factory that packed the box and would like to know before it becomes a class action lawsuit.

Two, they will probably send you a coupon for a free box, or, at least, a couple dollars off.

cronus70

I often laugh at serving suggestions on cakes that tell me it should serve 6/8 people when clearly its 4 at a stretch..... 😂