SHOCKING: Food Labels are innacurate because FDA rule

weightlossguy01
weightlossguy01 Posts: 45
in Food and Nutrition
A friend emailed me this shocking info.
Fat: 1 gram = 9 calories
Protein: 1 gram = 4 calories
Carbohydrates: 1 gram = 4 calories
source: http://www.nutristrategy.com/nutrition/calories.htm

Coke label says...
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Total Carb 39g x 4 = 156 calories (NOT 140)


Mountain Dew label says...
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31g x 4 = 124 calories (NOT 110)
77g x 4 = 308 calories (NOT 290)



article from: http://consumerist.com/2010/12/why-dont-the-calories-on-this-mountain-dew-bottle-add-up.html

Why Don't The Calories On This Mountain Dew Bottle Add Up?

Eagle-eyed reader Brian was sitting back and enjoying an ice-cold Mountain Dew when he noticed that something seemed funny about the math on the Nutrition Facts label.
Per the label, the 20 oz. bottle contains 2.5 servings of 8 oz. each. For the 8 oz. serving, it lists the calorie total as 110 calories. But for the full 20 oz. bottle it says 290 calories. Problem is, 110 x 2.5 = 275, not 290.
So what's going on? Are the Pepsi people that bad at math?

We went straight to a rep for the beverage behemoth who explained:

“The discrepancy is due to FDA Rounding Rules. For products greater than 50 calories per serving the rule is that you must round to the nearest 10 calorie increment.
What has happened in the case of Mountain Dew is that the 8oz serving is somewhere between 110 and 114 calories, rounded down to the nearest 10 that means it is labeled as 110.”

So if the company uses the high end of that 110-114 calorie count when it extrapolates for the whole bottle, that gives you around 285 calories. And regulations require that number be upped to 290.
Here is a link to the FDA's guide for rounding nutrition info up and down.

Replies

  • ElizabethRoad
    ElizabethRoad Posts: 5,138 Member
    OMG EIGHTEEN CALORIES
  • weightlossguy01
    weightlossguy01 Posts: 45
    This is on every food item! Breakfast, lunch, dinner, snacks, they round down. Over the course of a week you are talking hundreds of extra calories.
  • weightlossguy01
    weightlossguy01 Posts: 45
    Do the math and you'll see you're eating more each day than what is reported.
  • Pebble321
    Pebble321 Posts: 6,423 Member
    Don't stress about it, everything you log (food and exercise) is an estimate.
    Your BMR, your TDEE, your body fat % - all estimates.
    As long as your estimates aren't too far out, the numbers workout ok.
  • WillPowerYes
    WillPowerYes Posts: 103 Member
    This is on every food item! Breakfast, lunch, dinner, snacks, they round down. Over the course of a week you are talking hundreds of extra calories.
    Perhaps not quite. Wouldn't the rounded "down" calories are offset by the rounded "up" calories, and probably average out in the long run?
  • Qarol
    Qarol Posts: 6,171 Member
    My Walmart brand shredded cheese says on the front there are approx 2 cups in the bag. On the nutrition label, it says a serving is a 1/3 cup. Total servings in the bag = 8.

    And I thought I was bad at math... :huh:
  • ericcumbee
    ericcumbee Posts: 117 Member
    scandalous i say, they should hold hearings in congress over 18 calories. has congress wraped up the hearings on baseball? because that should defiantly be the next thing to hold hearings on. </sarcasm>
  • SoySalva
    SoySalva Posts: 136 Member
    This information has surprised me somewhat but I'm not going to stress over it. Millions of people have lost weight taking into consideration these labels so apparently rounding out lower or higher balances out in the end.
  • JayByrd107
    JayByrd107 Posts: 282 Member
    This is on every food item! Breakfast, lunch, dinner, snacks, they round down. Over the course of a week you are talking hundreds of extra calories.

    We're all screwed.

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