CHECK FOOD LABELS! BIG ERROR FOUND ON CHEESE

shorerider
shorerider Posts: 3,817 Member
edited September 19 in Food and Nutrition
OK GANG! WARNING, WARNING, WARNING!

CHECK YOUR FOOD LABELS CAREFULLY! THEY CAN CONTAIN ERRORS--BIG ONES!

I went to the store today and looked for low-sodium cheese. I found this fresh grated Parmesan by a company called 4C. The food labels reads EXACTLY as follows (so does their website btw):

1 Tablespoon (5 grams)
Calories 20
total fat 1.5g
Sodium 70 mg
Total Carbs 0

Ok, now regular Parmesan has 85mgs of sodium per 2 TEASPOONS, RIGHT?

So, I was ecstatic! WOW--70 MGS PER TABLESPOON? That's quite a bit lower than the Kraft stuff. So I bought this cheese.

Just sat down for dinner with some yellow squash, measured out 1.5 Tablespoons of this 4C Cheese, thinking, "it's low sodium--yea!"

As I'm eating, I go to enter it into the database....and decide, for some reason, to check out grams to Tablespoons.

WELL, 5 GRAMS IS NOT 1 TABLESPOON--5 GRAMS IS 1 TEASPOON!!

HUGE HUGE HUGE DIFFERENCE!

That means it has 210 mgs of sodium per tablespoon, not 70!! :explode: :explode: :explode: :explode: :explode:

And, i just ate 1.5 tablespoons of the stuff or 315 mgs of sodium while thinking I was eating like 90 mgs! :mad: :mad:

SO, LESSON LEARNED!

Check those labels good!

I sent a nasty email to the company telling them how hazardous to someone's health this could be--I mean, someone like me with HBP that has to track could make a BIG mistake by eating this stuff and thinking "oh, low-sodium" NOT!

Replies

  • shorerider
    shorerider Posts: 3,817 Member
    OK GANG! WARNING, WARNING, WARNING!

    CHECK YOUR FOOD LABELS CAREFULLY! THEY CAN CONTAIN ERRORS--BIG ONES!

    I went to the store today and looked for low-sodium cheese. I found this fresh grated Parmesan by a company called 4C. The food labels reads EXACTLY as follows (so does their website btw):

    1 Tablespoon (5 grams)
    Calories 20
    total fat 1.5g
    Sodium 70 mg
    Total Carbs 0

    Ok, now regular Parmesan has 85mgs of sodium per 2 TEASPOONS, RIGHT?

    So, I was ecstatic! WOW--70 MGS PER TABLESPOON? That's quite a bit lower than the Kraft stuff. So I bought this cheese.

    Just sat down for dinner with some yellow squash, measured out 1.5 Tablespoons of this 4C Cheese, thinking, "it's low sodium--yea!"

    As I'm eating, I go to enter it into the database....and decide, for some reason, to check out grams to Tablespoons.

    WELL, 5 GRAMS IS NOT 1 TABLESPOON--5 GRAMS IS 1 TEASPOON!!

    HUGE HUGE HUGE DIFFERENCE!

    That means it has 210 mgs of sodium per tablespoon, not 70!! :explode: :explode: :explode: :explode: :explode:

    And, i just ate 1.5 tablespoons of the stuff or 315 mgs of sodium while thinking I was eating like 90 mgs! :mad: :mad:

    SO, LESSON LEARNED!

    Check those labels good!

    I sent a nasty email to the company telling them how hazardous to someone's health this could be--I mean, someone like me with HBP that has to track could make a BIG mistake by eating this stuff and thinking "oh, low-sodium" NOT!
  • arewethereyet
    arewethereyet Posts: 18,702 Member
    It is amazing what the food industry gets away with. Low fat usually equals 10% less, and flavor is 50% less.

    I bought a cup of yogurt once, dont remember the brand. It yelled 'HALF THE CALORIES" on the label. Found out later a reg serving of yogurt is 8 oz...this was 4 oz cup. of COURSE it was 1/2 the calories!


    I am just now getting into researching and measuring sodium. I blew it today with 1 tblsn of Teriaki...oh my, 1200 mg of sodium!

    So now I know. Thanks for your info, I really appreciate it.
  • Kaybay37
    Kaybay37 Posts: 57
    WHOA!

    Thanks for sharing and I'm really glad you sent that letter!:angry:
  • rpowersrph
    rpowersrph Posts: 70
    you might be confussing weight and volume a pound of feathers takes up alot more space than a pound of lead
    1tsp = 5ml 1ml =1 gram so 1 teaspoonful = 5GM
    1Tablespoonful = 15ml = 15 Gm usally water is used for the standard
    it is a very good idea to read the label carefully there can be mistake call the company and ask them how they got the information on the label
  • shorerider
    shorerider Posts: 3,817 Member
    you might be confussing weight and volume a pound of feathers takes up alot more space than a pound of lead
    1tsp = 5ml 1ml =1 gram so 1 teaspoonful = 5GM
    1Tablespoonful = 15ml = 15 Gm usally water is used for the standard
    it is a very good idea to read the label carefully there can be mistake call the company and ask them how they got the information on the label

    Nope, I'm not confusing it--the company is. The label reads as I posted it:
    1 Tablespoon (5grams).

    I didn't know until after I ate it that 5 grams equals 1 teaspoon, not 1 tablespoon. I sent them a message-see if they respond or not.
  • rpowersrph
    rpowersrph Posts: 70
    It would be interesting to measure out 1 tablespoonful of the cheese and weigh it
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