Kirkland Popcorn...Trying to understand their label???

mjterp
mjterp Posts: 650 Member
OK...I seriously called in to Costco regarding thier microwave popcorn...if you look at the nutrition label search?q=nutrition+label+for+Kirkland+microwave+popcorn&sa=X&biw=988&bih=354&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&ei=E0ZIVKSGMtGyyASR84LYAQ&ved=0CEQQ7Ak#facrc=_&imgdii=_&imgrc=qzImIJVY5Mf9jM%253A%3Bx9Uum8ZlDc0j5M%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fhighstreet.co.kr%252Fweb%252Fupload%252Fpdtimg3%252Fkirk_microwave_popcorn_93g2.jpg%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fhighstreet.co.kr%252Fproduct%252FKirkland-Microwave-Popcorn-93g%252FSFSELFAA0006347%252F%3B500%3B500
That is the link for the image of the bag of microwave popcorn. (I hope I did it right) Here is the math. at the top it says Serving size of 2 tbsp UNpopped (makes 5.5 cups popped) Servings per bag is 2.5 so that would mean 13.75 CUPS per bag? OK..now it gets worse...it says 2 tbsp per serving, but on the lower part where it gives the breakdown of calories/fat grams, etc... it says 2 TBSP UNpopped and the next column is 1 cup POPPED... (which has only 35 calories)...BUT if there are ONLY 2.5 servings per bag, wouldn't that mean 2.5 cups per bag instead of 13.75 (as stated above..."Makes 5.5 cups" is in parentheses UNDER the Serving Size 2 TBSP UNpopped...) HELP ME OUT HERE, PEOPLE! Because it will be another week or so until the Costco people get back to me on this. (Two of their customer service people were as befuddled as I am)

Replies

  • LeonCX
    LeonCX Posts: 862 Member
    Maybe this will help:

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  • Unknown
    edited October 2014
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  • BogQueen1
    BogQueen1 Posts: 320 Member
    Pop popcorn. Measure into measuring cups. Compute calories from there!
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  • apratsunrthd
    apratsunrthd Posts: 23 Member
    edited October 2014
    If you eat the whole bag, it's 190 calories * 2.5 = 475 total. That's pretty close to every bagged popcorn on the market so that's the right figure.

    The bag has 93.5g of unpopped popcorn and one serving is 36g.

    And yes, 1 oz of popcorn makes about 4 cups popped. 13.75 popped cups would be optimistic but it's close.
  • ShortMrsN
    ShortMrsN Posts: 177 Member
    mjterp wrote: »
    OK...I seriously called in to Costco regarding thier microwave popcorn...if you look at the nutrition label search?q=nutrition+label+for+Kirkland+microwave+popcorn&sa=X&biw=988&bih=354&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&ei=E0ZIVKSGMtGyyASR84LYAQ&ved=0CEQQ7Ak#facrc=_&imgdii=_&imgrc=qzImIJVY5Mf9jM%253A%3Bx9Uum8ZlDc0j5M%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fhighstreet.co.kr%252Fweb%252Fupload%252Fpdtimg3%252Fkirk_microwave_popcorn_93g2.jpg%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fhighstreet.co.kr%252Fproduct%252FKirkland-Microwave-Popcorn-93g%252FSFSELFAA0006347%252F%3B500%3B500
    That is the link for the image of the bag of microwave popcorn. (I hope I did it right) Here is the math. at the top it says Serving size of 2 tbsp UNpopped (makes 5.5 cups popped) Servings per bag is 2.5 so that would mean 13.75 CUPS per bag? OK..now it gets worse...it says 2 tbsp per serving, but on the lower part where it gives the breakdown of calories/fat grams, etc... it says 2 TBSP UNpopped and the next column is 1 cup POPPED... (which has only 35 calories)...BUT if there are ONLY 2.5 servings per bag, wouldn't that mean 2.5 cups per bag instead of 13.75 (as stated above..."Makes 5.5 cups" is in parentheses UNDER the Serving Size 2 TBSP UNpopped...) HELP ME OUT HERE, PEOPLE! Because it will be another week or so until the Costco people get back to me on this. (Two of their customer service people were as befuddled as I am)

    13.75 cups is for the ENTIRE box...not just one bag...the 5.5 cups is PER BAG
    That's what I was thinking......is a single pack 36g? or is it 93g? (as stated on the right of the picture in the link)

  • apratsunrthd
    apratsunrthd Posts: 23 Member
    edited October 2014
    13.75 cups is for the ENTIRE box...not just one bag...the 5.5 cups is PER BAG
    Uh, no. There are 3.3oz of popcorn in the bag. One oz of popcorn makes about 4 cups popped. 13.2 cups popped in a microwave bag.

    This sort of misinformation is no doubt the reason so many of the figures in the database for popcorn are wrong.
  • allaboutthecake
    allaboutthecake Posts: 1,535 Member
    edited October 2014
    Can you go by the weight of the bag instead of the tablespoon measurement? (And yes, it looks like 1 bag is 13+ cups popped, which is why suggested weighing it.)
  • jess_blonde
    jess_blonde Posts: 229 Member
    edited October 2014
    The breakdown you're talking about ("the lower part where it gives the breakdown of calories/fat grams, etc... it says 2 TBSP UNpopped and the next column is 1 cup POPPED") looks like it's being intentionally misleading to make the popcorn look healthier than it is (that is to say - 2 tbsp unpopped kernals does NOT equal 1 cup of popped corn...but the calories for 1 cup of popped corn look prettier and less bad for you on the label).

    Basically: One SERVING of this popcorn is 5.5 cups once popped, which is equal to about 190 calories. If you measure out 5.5 cups of popped corn your nutritional data is what is stated in the 2tbsp of unpopped kernels column.

    It's probably best to ignore the 1 cup popped column as it feels misleading (unless you plan on eating 1/5th of a serving at a time, in which case it's a nice breakdown of your nutritional data).

    Hope that was helpful and not more confusing!
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  • apratsunrthd
    apratsunrthd Posts: 23 Member
    ShortMrsN wrote: »

    13.75 cups is for the ENTIRE box...not just one bag...the 5.5 cups is PER BAG
    That's what I was thinking......is a single pack 36g? or is it 93g? (as stated on the right of the picture in the link)

    No, it's not for the entire box... it's for a bag. A bag has 3.3oz, or 93g. One ounce of corn makes about 4 cups popped. Whole bag = 13.75 cups (really more like 13.2).

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  • apratsunrthd
    apratsunrthd Posts: 23 Member
    edited October 2014
    The breakdown you're talking about ("the lower part where it gives the breakdown of calories/fat grams, etc... it says 2 TBSP UNpopped and the next column is 1 cup POPPED") looks like it's being intentionally misleading to make the popcorn look healthier than it is (that is to say - 2 tbsp unpopped kernals does NOT equal 1 cup of popped corn...but the calories for 1 cup of popped corn look prettier and less bad for you on the label).

    Basically: One SERVING of this popcorn is 5.5 cups once popped, which is equal to about 190 calories. If you measure out 5.5 cups of popped corn your nutritional data is what is stated in the 2tbsp of unpopped kernels column.

    It's probably best to ignore the 1 cup popped column as it feels misleading (unless you plan on eating 1/5th of a serving at a time, in which case it's a nice breakdown of your nutritional data).

    Hope that was helpful and not more confusing!

    You got it right. :-P

  • apratsunrthd
    apratsunrthd Posts: 23 Member
    13.75 cups is for the ENTIRE box...not just one bag...the 5.5 cups is PER BAG
    Uh, no. There are 3.3oz of popcorn in the bag. One oz of popcorn makes about 4 cups popped. 13.2 cups popped in a microwave bag.

    This sort of misinformation is no doubt the reason so many of the figures in the database for popcorn are wrong.

    there is NOT 13.75 cups in a bag of popcorn...lol.

    Yes, yes there are. But it doesn't really matter if you believe me. You being ignorant doesn't change the facts: one ounce of popcorn makes 4 cups popped. There are 3.3 ounces in one microwave bag. Do the math.

  • marlovs78
    marlovs78 Posts: 75 Member
    edited October 2014
    People arguing over a popcorn label. :p
    Only on MFP.
  • apratsunrthd
    apratsunrthd Posts: 23 Member
    The breakdown you're talking about ("the lower part where it gives the breakdown of calories/fat grams, etc... it says 2 TBSP UNpopped and the next column is 1 cup POPPED") looks like it's being intentionally misleading to make the popcorn look healthier than it is (that is to say - 2 tbsp unpopped kernals does NOT equal 1 cup of popped corn...but the calories for 1 cup of popped corn look prettier and less bad for you on the label).

    Basically: One SERVING of this popcorn is 5.5 cups once popped, which is equal to about 190 calories. If you measure out 5.5 cups of popped corn your nutritional data is what is stated in the 2tbsp of unpopped kernels column.

    It's probably best to ignore the 1 cup popped column as it feels misleading (unless you plan on eating 1/5th of a serving at a time, in which case it's a nice breakdown of your nutritional data).

    Hope that was helpful and not more confusing!

    no...there are 2 1/2 servings PER BAG...

    2.5 servings UNPOPPED per bag, ding dong. What does the box say? A serving size is 36g of UNPOPPED kernels. The bag itself says there are 93g in the bag. 93/36 = 2.58333.... so, 2.5. It's not that hard.
  • apratsunrthd
    apratsunrthd Posts: 23 Member
    http://www.cooksinfo.com/popcorn
    Equivalents

    1 tbsp unpopped = 1/2 oz / 12g unpopped = 1 cup, popped
    2 tbsp unpopped = 1 oz / 25g unpopped = 2 1/2 cups, popped
    4 tbsp unpopped = 2 oz / 50g unpopped = 5 cups, popped
    3 tbsp unpopped = 4 cups popped
    1 cup unpopped popcorn = 8 oz / 225g
  • pelleld
    pelleld Posts: 363 Member
    One serving of this is 2 TBS unpopped which equates to 5.5 Cups once popped (which equals 190 calories). There are 2.5 servings per bag, so approximately 6 TBS unpopped and 13.75 cups once popped, for a total of approximately 475 calories for the whole bag. Divide the 475 by the 13.75 to get the 35 calories per CUP. The information on the right is for those who are going to eat less than a serving, going by cups. And for all those doubters, there are indeed just over 13 cups in a bag of popcorn once it is popped.
  • apratsunrthd
    apratsunrthd Posts: 23 Member
    pelleld wrote: »
    One serving of this is 2 TBS unpopped which equates to 5.5 Cups once popped (which equals 190 calories). There are 2.5 servings per bag, so approximately 6 TBS unpopped and 13.75 cups once popped, for a total of approximately 475 calories for the whole bag. Divide the 475 by the 13.75 to get the 35 calories per CUP. The information on the right is for those who are going to eat less than a serving, going by cups. And for all those doubters, there are indeed just over 13 cups in a bag of popcorn once it is popped.

    +1
  • jess_blonde
    jess_blonde Posts: 229 Member
    edited October 2014
    I don't appear to have made this any clearer. Let's regroup:

    The bag has 2.5 servings of popcorn (popped or unpopped).

    One serving is 2 tbsp kernels.

    Therefore the bag contains about 6 tbsp of kernels.

    2 tbsp of kernels makes 5.5 cups popped popcorn.

    If the bag has 6 tbsp of kernels, each bag will make 13.75 cups of popcorn. (Measure it out people, popcorn has a lot of airspace...since most bags don't pop completely this is an optimistic estimate...you're more likely to get like 11 cups but let's not quibble about little things)

    One serving of popcorn, any way you slice it, is 2 tbsp of kernels so your calorie count for one serving *is* the first column.

    The second column gives you 1/5.5th of a serving (a serving being 5.5 cups popped popcorn) or 1/13.75th of a fully popped *bag* of popcorn. The second column is misleading, which is where all the confusion is coming from I think.

    Better?


  • mjterp
    mjterp Posts: 650 Member
    Thank you! Much better now! Sorry that anyone felt upset by this. ..i very much appreciate the clarification!
  • PikaKnight
    PikaKnight Posts: 34,971 Member
    edited October 2014
    Let's remember that everything is an estimation and you are really overthinking this.

    Measure out the amount of popcorn you want after it's been popped and go by the 1 cup breakdown it gave you.

    The calorie difference isn't going to break your deficit if it turns out to be a little over because...popcorn...and the cup measurement of it all is going to be off slightly anyways due to the differences in weight (1 cup of popcorn won't weigh the same as the next cup, basically). Plus you have the kernels that didn't pop that you'd have to consider as well.

    TL;DR - It's not that important to be "that" exact on the popcorn.