Serving/Per Container calories don't add up

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pugsywugsy
pugsywugsy Posts: 2 Member
in Food and Nutrition
Hello,
Something I've noticed on some of my packaged foods is that when I calculate calories based on the per serving calories it doesn't match up to their per container calories.

For example, I bought an item that said it was 440 calories per serving (2 servings/container). But the per container calories listed was 940.

If I calculated it based on servings it would be 880 calories total not 940.

Not a huge difference, but I'm just curious if there's a reason for this since I've noticed this on quite a few things I buy.

Replies

  • lynn_glenmont
    lynn_glenmont Posts: 10,008 Member
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    pugsywugsy wrote: »
    Hello,
    Something I've noticed on some of my packaged foods is that when I calculate calories based on the per serving calories it doesn't match up to their per container calories.

    For example, I bought an item that said it was 440 calories per serving (2 servings/container). But the per container calories listed was 940.

    If I calculated it based on servings it would be 880 calories total not 940.

    Not a huge difference, but I'm just curious if there's a reason for this since I've noticed this on quite a few things I buy.

    Did the container say "2 servings" or "about 2 servings" ? In the U.S., "about" is very common for the number of servings in a container, and seems to indicate rounding to the nearest whole or half serving.
  • ritzvin
    ritzvin Posts: 2,860 Member
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    lynn_glenmont wrote: »
    pugsywugsy wrote: »
    Hello,
    Something I've noticed on some of my packaged foods is that when I calculate calories based on the per serving calories it doesn't match up to their per container calories.

    For example, I bought an item that said it was 440 calories per serving (2 servings/container). But the per container calories listed was 940.

    If I calculated it based on servings it would be 880 calories total not 940.

    Not a huge difference, but I'm just curious if there's a reason for this since I've noticed this on quite a few things I buy.

    Did the container say "2 servings" or "about 2 servings" ? In the U.S., "about" is very common for the number of servings in a container, and seems to indicate rounding to the nearest whole or half serving.

    I was about to comment the same thing... Containers here pretty much always say "about" (even for the very few instances where there does turn out to be an exact round number of servings). (And they seem to often have it to the nearest full round number, even when closer to _.5 servings).
  • janejellyroll
    janejellyroll Posts: 25,763 Member
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    I'll echo some of the other commenters here, it's not at all uncommon for me to notice that some of the packaged foods that I buy will wind up having "about" x number of servings and the last serving will often be just partial. It's another reason why I like to weigh things out.
  • silverpl2525
    silverpl2525 Posts: 138 Member
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    Hmmmmm I never thought of this. I just notice that the "serving size" for most food is about 1/3 what I eat!
  • nanastaci2020
    nanastaci2020 Posts: 1,072 Member
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    Many items have terms like approximately or about on them regarding the servings per container. Such as serving size x, about 3 servings per container. They normally do not match up to even servings.

    I have a can of soup in front of me: 524g total weight on the label.
    Nutrition facts: About 2 servings per can. Serving size 240g, per serving 170 cals. But if there is 524 g in the can, then that is 240g + 240g + 44g. If I had the entire can, and it did indeed weigh 524g (some packages have 10-20% error rate) then I would need to log 2.18 servings.

    Another reason why a food scale is useful.
  • pugsywugsy
    pugsywugsy Posts: 2 Member
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    lynn_glenmont wrote: »
    pugsywugsy wrote: »

    Did the container say "2 servings" or "about 2 servings" ? In the U.S., "about" is very common for the number of servings in a container, and seems to indicate rounding to the nearest whole or half serving.

    Thanks everyone for pointing that out! The item I was referencing did state 2 servings, but after looking at other products I have, some of them do say the "about 2 servings". That would likely explain the difference in calories.

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