Supermarkets misleading us on calories!

valerian101

Yet again, I have been taken into buying stuff because it has the number of calories in large clear type displayed on the container, only for me to find that there is tiny, tiny print underneath it saying per half, quarter, sixth or eighth of the very small carton!

Even worse for me is that I have not spotted this and have adjusted the amount on my food diary to match this figure. How amazing that I have still lost weight!!

When the pots look like single portions it makes dieting even more difficult. :huh:

I really think that the manufacturers/suppliers need to be challenged on this.

gothicprophet

I really think that the manufacturers/suppliers need to be challenged on this.

I couldn't agree more!

We as consumers need to stand up to these practices and stop buying misleading products. That's the only way companies seem to respond these days.

pelleld

I never assume a container of ANY size is one serving. You always have to read the labels thoroughly!

UCFLauren

I once bought some cookies which said ''100 calorie servings!'' without reading the facts on the back, only to find out when I got home that one serving was 1 little cookie. :huh: I read every nutrition label diligently before placing the item in my shopping cart. If it's not calorie-cost-efficient for me, even if they're yummy, I don't buy them!

ProTFitness

I never assume a container of ANY size is one serving. You always have to read the labels thoroughly!

So true. DOn't Assume the Product on Face Value. Read Read read the lables

needtoloseweight25

Yeah, I have been what we call a label detective for about 4 years now and I have learn how to read them carefully including the ingredients so i know what I am eating before I eat it. They do try to fully ou with the writing that says this is one serving on the outside of the product. Yeah right!!!

botography

I guess it is my background, my age or both but I read everything carefully and then make adjustments. So many products I just leave on the shelves because even in small quanities they set up my cravings and cause me to want more and more. A half a cup of frozen yogurt is about 150 calories, but once I get started the whole entire half gallon is not going to make me thin anytime soon.

I guess I am lucky in that I have a smart phone (android) with an app that scans the labels off the box. I can shop with it and hopefully get good info.

And I do agree the companies seem to try to get away with what they are allowed to.

catcrazy

I dont assume that 1 pot is = to x amount of portions but for a long time I took the packaging at its word. I was buying and dividing up several items thinking i was being pretty accurate...for example I was buying 600g pots of cottage cheese and having a third of a pot and logging as 200g...when I got my scales i decided to weigh the contents, tared my scales and tipped out the cheese...800g!!!!!! so was over by a fair bit. 200g of wafer thin sliced beef packages were sometimes as high as 350g, I know they will err on the side of caution because under measuring will get them prosecuted but 150 grams extra on 200g???

My advice GET SCALES

W0zzie

@pelleld - good advice - I got sucked in by a Salad (it did contain pasta so probably should have rang alarm bells there) - calories for the salad quite good - until I realised "after" the fact that the container was 2 serves

TourThePast

Yet again, I have been taken into buying stuff because it has the number of calories in large clear type displayed on the container, only for me to find that there is tiny, tiny print underneath it saying per half, quarter, sixth or eighth of the very small carton!

Once you become more "calorie aware" you'll get used to how many calories there are in, for instance, a cookie.

So if you see a packet of four cookies, and it says "100 calories per serving" it won't even occur to you that 100 calories could possibly be for the whole packet.

It's not manufacturers who are misleading the public, it's the public who are misleading themselves into thinking a "serving" of something very high calorie is supposed to be a whole packet - even if the packet is extremely small.

catcrazy

It's not manufacturers who are misleading the public, it's the public who are misleading themselves into thinking a "serving" of something very high calorie is supposed to be a whole packet - even if the packet is extremely small.

In some cases maybe but what about in the cases i've stated? If it says 600g you expect pretty close to 600g and while extra for free is a good thing its not so good if you are taking the packaging at its word and over eating because they don't weigh properly

cass89

I never assume a container of ANY size is one serving. You always have to read the labels thoroughly!

me too.

kitinboots

Some things really should come in packages of one serving. I live alone and cook for one and always get stuck with twice as much as I need/want. I'm so fed up of eating leftovers every other day.

AlsDonkBoxSquat

IDK, most containers are not single servings anyway so the first thing I did when I joined MFP was buy a scale to make sure that I had accurate counts instead of estimating a half or a third of a container. Really you can complain about them over filling a container, but there are people who verify the weight on every product they buy and will go to extremes if they come up 1g short of what's on the packaging for being cheated. As far as the calorie count on the packaging, you just need to read the backs of all labels and be responsible for educating yourself. As far as the actual amounts in the container, it's much cheaper for the companies to be conservative and go over a little in every package then to have complaints and court cases for cheating their customers.

bumblebee87

I'm constantly reading labels and weighing everything. Shopping takes forever and I drive my dad mad when I bring my digital scales when we stay for the weekend, but if I want to be thin, these are the things I need to do!

Kirsty_UK

Some things really should come in packages of one serving. I live alone and cook for one and always get stuck with twice as much as I need/want. I'm so fed up of eating leftovers every other day.

I would agree with you if it wasn't for the fact that I HATE packaging. So much needless waste.

kitinboots

Some things really should come in packages of one serving. I live alone and cook for one and always get stuck with twice as much as I need/want. I'm so fed up of eating leftovers every other day.

I would agree with you if it wasn't for the fact that I HATE packaging. So much needless waste.

This is true, but there always seems to be twice as much packaging as they need anyway, so if they halved the packaging and the portion sizes, it would create just as much packaging overall but make me much happier

Azdak

If the portion sizes are listed on the label, then I don't see where they can be accused of being "misleading". I don't think that being accountable for reading your own food labels is an unreasonable expectation.

bac0s

I dont assume that 1 pot is = to x amount of portions but for a long time I took the packaging at its word. I was buying and dividing up several items thinking i was being pretty accurate...for example I was buying 600g pots of cottage cheese and having a third of a pot and logging as 200g...when I got my scales i decided to weigh the contents, tared my scales and tipped out the cheese...800g!!!!!! so was over by a fair bit. 200g of wafer thin sliced beef packages were sometimes as high as 350g, I know they will err on the side of caution because under measuring will get them prosecuted but 150 grams extra on 200g???

My advice GET SCALES

Right, but... in addition to saying how much (approximate) product there is in the package, they are very specific about how much each serving weighs. I get a big thing of cottage cheese, or meat, or shredded cheese, or carrots, and weigh out each serving. Even my container of cottage cheese, in the nutritional section where it says "Servings per container," says, "About 2.5."

Absolutely scales are the most accurate.

CherrySunday

Oh gosh, I know! And it's not just food, it's on drinks too! I hate how they do that, especially if it looks like a single size portion! I bought a 12oz natural energy drink the other day.. 12oz, 90 calories -- then in fine print: 90 calories for 1 serving/ 2 servings per container! Really?! I swear, the companies get so shifty!