Food Label Lies - you won't FREAKING Believe this!

Black_Swan

Thats just horrible!

karenjoy

Independent nutritionist Dr Geoffrey Livesey, who formerly worked for the Medical Research Council, is among a growing band of scientists calling for a new system.


'We need to take into account all the considerable knowledge we have learnt since 1889 and start applying it,' said Dr Livesey.


'An error in accuracy of 25 per cent is simply not good enough. And with some prepared meals containing a number of foods, the level of inaccuracy can be as much as 50 per cent. 'The consumer is being cheated by not getting the right information. 'People on strict calorie controlled diets cannot rely on food packaging when trying to lose or gain weight.'


The existing method of calculation was created 120 years ago based on tables put together by American agricultural chemist Wilbur Olin Atwater. Using a device called a bomb calorimeter, Atwater burned food samples and measured the amount of energy released from the heat this produced.

He then estimated the amount of this energy the body used up, by calculating the energy of undigested food in faeces and other waste products.Atwater concluded that every gram of carbohydrates produced four calories, every gram of fat, nine calories and every gram of protein, four calories.
Ever since these figures have been taken as gospel.


However new research by Dr Livesey, and others, has shown that the amount we digest certain food varies.
Therefore the calorie content of food should be re-calculated according to its Net Metablisable Energy - the figure showing the amount of calories food leaves for your body to use after the calories used in digesting it have been subtract.
His findings were reviewed by the World Health Organisation in 2007, which concluded his research was sound.
Despite this, government body, the Food Standards Agency, has rejected calls to adopt the system.
Dr Livesey said the discrepancies also call into doubt the ability of the food regulators to punish manufactures who publish in accurate calorie information.
'Manufacturers are punished by regulators if they publish inaccurate calorie information.
'There is a degree of injustice here. Should manufacturers be punished if the system is itself just as inaccurate?'

A spokesperson for the FSA said that Mr Livesey's research was of 'legitimate scientific interest' but would not have sufficient impact on overall diets to warrant changing calorie counts on packaging.

pretentiouskate

Kudos to Whole Foods! I think I'll keep shopping there when I can...

My favorite is when they sneak in extra "servings" in nutrition labels. My fiance was about to get a muffin for me that was ~200 calories, until he realized that the nutrition facts said in tiny print there was supposedly FOUR SERVINGS.

I honestly think that when people talk about eating whole foods, they aren't talking about the grocery chain - they're talking about unprocessed foods in their natural form. So an orange, vs. a can of oranges, or making your own chicken and rice vs. buying a prepackaged meal of chicken and rice.

cutmd

Kudos to Whole Foods! I think I'll keep shopping there when I can...

My favorite is when they sneak in extra "servings" in nutrition labels. My fiance was about to get a muffin for me that was ~200 calories, until he realized that the nutrition facts said in tiny print there was supposedly FOUR SERVINGS.

I honestly think that when people talk about eating whole foods, they aren't talking about the grocery chain - they're talking about unprocessed foods in their natural form. So an orange, vs. a can of oranges, or making your own chicken and rice vs. buying a prepackaged meal of chicken and rice.

In this case, both deserve credit. Whole Foods the grocery store is strict about accurate food labeling since many of their customers have food intolerances (like me) or health concerns. Whole foods the concept of unpackaged food, ie oranges, is what we should focus on eating. I, of course, prefer to buy my whole foods from Whole Foods. But that is the subject of a different thread :happy:

By the way, I calculated that galeo's owes me about 6lbs of weight loss :grumble:

And if this is what's happening with packaged food, just imagine in a restaurant where they are cooking things fresh. An extra pat of butter or fattier cut of meat and you're eating way more than you think :frown:

RMinVA

If I remember right, my local news channel did a piece like this once, about fast food restaurants. The law says they can’t be UNDER the amount of calories they post, but there is nothing stopping them from being over the amount of calories posted on their nutritional information about each item.

So if Burger King post that a whopper w/cheese has 1000 calories, it must have at least 1000 calories, but it can have twice that without breaking the advertising laws.

Additionally, there is absolutely NO regulation and studies have shown that restaurant meals are often 30% OVER.

amysj303

but whole foods are going to vary too, right? I don't weigh the apples I eat but they vary a lot in size but I enter them as generic apple for 100 cals and that could be very different. presumably other fruits might vary in their sweetness and calorie content, even if the weight was the same.
This is not to justify what Galeo salad dressing did, I just realize that not every food, packaged or whole, is going to be consistent.

pretentiouskate

but whole foods are going to vary too, right? I don't weigh the apples I eat but they vary a lot in size but I enter them as generic apple for 100 cals and that could be very different. presumably other fruits might vary in their sweetness and calorie content, even if the weight was the same.
This is not to justify what Galeo salad dressing did, I just realize that not every food, packaged or whole, is going to be consistent.

This is true, but you can find consistent info on what an apple is per ounce - and weighing that apple, and finding what it is per ounce, would get you an accurate measure of calories in it.

therobinator

I have known that for sometime now.

Here is another eye opener for you.about why you should use a scale when measuring calorie dense foods.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JVjWPclrWVY

Interesting, and definitely worth checking your scoops on a scale.

therobinator

I have known that for sometime now.

Here is another eye opener for you.about why you should use a scale when measuring calorie dense foods.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JVjWPclrWVY

But on the other hand (I'm playing devil's advocate here):

Human beings have gotten along for millions of years without measuring everything exactly and concurrently without being overweight....because our bodies tell us what we need, on what days we need more food, on what days we need less food (to balance out the days we had too much), etc. So, while yes, this video certainly proves a point, unless a person is absolutely consistently measuring wrong (and never just doing what feels right for a particular day/meal - i.e. naturally balancing the diet), the video won't necessarily hold true.

Just saying. Not trying to debate. Peace.

Grokette

Maybe instead of cracking down on McDonalds and their advertising etc our government should focus on making sure we are getting the correct information on our food labels.

The government is not going to change anything. There are too many lobbyists for the Food Growing and Manufacturing that things are going to get way worse before they ever begin to get better.

I am trying to break into Politics in regards to changing food Policy..................I just don't know where to get started.

Grokette

I have known that for sometime now.

Here is another eye opener for you.about why you should use a scale when measuring calorie dense foods.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JVjWPclrWVY

But on the other hand (I'm playing devil's advocate here):

Human beings have gotten along for millions of years without measuring everything exactly and concurrently without being overweight....because our bodies tell us what we need, on what days we need more food, on what days we need less food (to balance out the days we had too much), etc. So, while yes, this video certainly proves a point, unless a person is absolutely consistently measuring wrong (and never just doing what feels right for a particular day/meal - i.e. naturally balancing the diet), the video won't necessarily hold true.

Just saying. Not trying to debate. Peace.

You are actually very correct. It is not about the # of calories we consume, but the nutritional value of the food we eat. The more nutrient dense the food is - the less we will eat and our body will be satisfied with no cravings.

Even Weight Watchers is now owning up to the fact that it is not about the # of calories consumed. Weight loss and health is not as simple as the mathetical equation they try to make it out to be. Has nothing to do with calories period.

Read this article.............

http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2011/03/09/weight-watchers-finally-recognizes-calorie-counting-doesnt-work.aspx



We need to listen to our bodies!!!

BigBoneSista

I have known that for sometime now.

Here is another eye opener for you.about why you should use a scale when measuring calorie dense foods.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JVjWPclrWVY

GUILTY!! :frown:

auntiebabs

bump

Monisfit4life

BUMP

miovlb6

Wow, this is kind of crazy. 20% seems like a huge margin for error! And restaurant food too; I've always thought their online/publicized calorie counts were probably nowhere near correct. Anyway, just bumping so I can check out the links tomorrow.

TrainerRobin

So true. I tell my clients this all the time. And those of you who know me, know how big of an advocate I am of weighing food, rather than measuring it by volume (measuring cups).

Remember that this 20% margin is COMMON especially in frozen prepared meals (e.g., Lean Cuisine, etc.) and meals from restaurants (often higher than 20%). Most trainers propose the rule of thumb that if folks eat these products much, to add 20% to their calorie count just to be safe (e.g, 180 calories on the label is 180 *1.2 = 216). A side benefit is that when folks have to do this often, they frequently get tired of the caloric 'rip offs' and start moving toward unprocessed foods that they make themselves (and that's something we trainers like to see!).

Learning2LoveMe

"One example, billed as a "carob coated" doughnut with three grams of fat and 135 calories, actually was a chocolate doughnut that contained 18 grams of fat and 530 calories. "

Holy crap! Eat one of those a day thinking you're doing okay and your killing your progress. :mad: :sick:

Becca_007

but whole foods are going to vary too, right? I don't weigh the apples I eat but they vary a lot in size but I enter them as generic apple for 100 cals and that could be very different. presumably other fruits might vary in their sweetness and calorie content, even if the weight was the same.
This is not to justify what Galeo salad dressing did, I just realize that not every food, packaged or whole, is going to be consistent.

That's why I use a food scale to weigh mine. I don't assume each apple or orange will be the same amount of cals, it's worth it to me to check for accuracy.

kmm7309

And if this is what's happening with packaged food, just imagine in a restaurant where they are cooking things fresh. An extra pat of butter or fattier cut of meat and you're eating way more than you think :frown:

I'm not going to lie; I work at Papa John's (I know, why am I here? I'm destined to be fat!!). If we have a product that is perfectly useable, but nearing expiration, we "push" the product- i.e. if tomatoes expire in 1 day, we'll throw some extra on every pizza that calls for tomatoes. That is just the very least of it: training pizza makers tend to over-top pizzas (I saw a kid try to throw three cups of cheese on a pizza that called for 1 1/2 cups one time at my old pizza place), and even seasoned guys think that they know best. Humans are subject to error, and as long as humans make your food, there will be error. I myself admit to throwing a handful of cheese on a pizza so it covers all the sauce, etc. Papa John's has nutritional information available online based on very specific cup measurements for all toppings, but I promise, it still happens every day. :ohwell:

lodro

It's why I started making everything myself, including baking my own bread. That and because I get so much better food for less money. If I watch my food intake, I want to be sure that what I eat is within my span of control as much as possible, and tastes delicious.