Calories left for the day don't add up?

Please open up your diary, or we can't see what's wrong

Look at any single thing on your diary and do the same math. Not one works out exactly. That is because all calories on packaging are rounded off. Per the FDA website on food labelling guidelines.

http://www.fda.gov/Food/GuidanceComplianceRegulatoryInformation/GuidanceDocuments/FoodLabelingNutrition/FoodLabelingGuide/ucm064894.htm


N7. When the caloric value for a serving of a food is less than 5 calories, can the actual caloric value be declared?

Answer: The caloric value of a product containing less than 5 calories may be expressed as zero or to the nearest 5 calorie increment (i.e., zero or 5 depending on the level). Foods with less than 5 calories meet the definition of “calorie free” and any differences are dietarily insignificant. 21 CFR 101.9(c)(1)


N8. Should a value of 47 calories be rounded up to 50 calories or rounded down to 45 calories?

Answer: Calories must be shown as follows:

50 calories or less--Round to nearest 5-calorie increment: Example: Round 47 calories to “45 calories”
Above 50 calories--Round to nearest 10-calorie increment: Example: Round 96 calories to “100 calories”
21 CFR 101.9(c)(1) Also see Appendix H for rounding guidelines.

Yeah, not only is there a 10% margin of error allowed in packaging, but the database is created mostly by members - who sometimes make mistakes or just purposely change the numbers.