Serving Size Labels from Products canned in water or other l

CharlieBarleyMom

So -- some of you may have noticed this disparity - and some of you may not have noticed yet... but here's the truth of the matter.

The governing body that follows up on Nutritional Labels and enforces the truth in labeling for the US (other countries I cannot speak for), allows (and yes, I've contacted them about this already) the Net Weight of products that are packed in water or other liquid to INCLUDE the weight of the liquid. OK, so far, not a big deal but read on.

The problem this introduces is that those products also have their total servings set using their NET WEIGHT (as above). This means that AFTER you drain the water, oil, or light syrup as the case may be, you are left with WAY less product than the net weight suggests.

I just opened a can of peas. The Net Weight is 241 grams (I always use grams when measuring my servings because I might over or under stuff a measuring cup!).

The serving size is 1/2 cup (125g) with a total servings of "about 2" (yeah, "about" 2).

That means that would be 250 grams for two servings. RIGHT!

I drained the water and started adding peas to my chicken salad -- and when I was nearing what LOOKED like the halfway point of the peas, the gram weight was only 60... so I moved my chicken salad to the side and pulled another container, tare, and measure the balance of the peas - 85 grams.

85 + 60 is 145 grams - so a container that has "about 2" servings of 125 grams each is LYING.

You must drain the liquid and measure the entire amount in grams and divide by the total number of servings. This will give you the correct gram weight for the food you are eating.

This is the only way to make sure you are, in fact, eating the calories, carbs, etc. PER SERVING as the label shows.

This also happened today with the chicken breast in water that I used for my chicken salad. The chicken in a can was the impetus for my email to the "Nutrition Label Gods of the United States" (years ago)... their response was very disheartening as a consumer.

I will forward their response to anyone who is interested in spamming them with the hopes of changing their practices.

I just wanted to share for those of you who may be unaware of this disparity. Thanks for listening!

EDIT: I just looked at this brand chicken label (Valley Fresh) and the serving size actually says 2 oz. drained! OH My! Such coolness. That's what we're looking for here folks!