Nutrition Facts Panel: Serving Sizes, Servings Per Container, and Calories
Nutrition Facts Part 1 Nutrition Facts Panel: Serving Sizes, Servings Per Container, and Calories
As I showed in Part 1 of Deconstructing Food Labels, one of several required information on the food label is the Nutrition Facts panel.
This required piece of information in the iconic black and white Arial font was required since May 1994, with a minor update that trans-fat be listed on labels by January 1, 2006.
Over the next several years, recommended tweaks and refinements to that label brought forth a "new and improved" label that was required starting January 1, 2020, with some leeway of another year for smaller companies for compliance by January 1, 2021.
While the Nutrition Facts panel is an excellent source of information, people don't always know what to pay attention to or how it applies to them. Others find it confusing or misinterpret the information there.
This tool, literally at our fingertips, can be helpful, and some of the newer updates to the 2020 and beyond version highlight information that people can still mix up.
I've been teaching people about Nutrition Facts panels for over 20 years, and in my college classes, the students bring in food labels to discover the details.
This new series will cover the Nutrition Facts in four parts:
- Part 1: Serving Sizes, Servings Per Container, and Calories
- Part 2: Fats, Cholesterol, Carbohydrates, and Protein
- Part 3: Sodium, Potassium, and Other Vitamins and Minerals
- Part 4: % Daily Value and Other Information
First, I must point out a few items that do not require this label, though you may still find it there.
Alcoholic beverages fall under a different agency than the U.S. Department of Agriculture Food and Drug Administration.
Coffee, tea, and spices. These have no measurable calories or nutrition on the label; overall, this label would be a long list of zeros.
Ready-to-eat foods for later consumption. For example, if you buy potato salad or macaroni salad at the deli, this does not require a nutrition facts label.
Bulk food items. Now and then, you may find packaged food items that have on the label: "Not for individual sale." This term means that the original packaging has the nutrition information, but the individual packages do not—for example, a box of pop tarts. If one were to try to sell the separate foil packages separately, each foil package does not have the Nutrition Facts. You may also see this on candy items sold in oversized packaging but consumed individually.
Raw fruits, vegetables, and fish are exempt from this requirement on the package. However, fruits and vegetables do have to have the information available or posted nearby at the store. If sold at grower's markets, this is not required.
Major cuts of meat used to be exempt from the Nutrition Facts requirement, but since 2012 is now required. The one thing not required is servings per container since the size (weight) of a cut of meat will vary and are not standardized.
SERVING SIZES
As much as this may seem straightforward, it is not. The serving size listed on the label is not how much one should eat but the size of what people "typically" eat.
The serving size is "an amount customarily consumed, and which is expressed in a common household measure that is appropriate to the food." Period. It is not a recommendation on portion sizes.
I've had people be offended at how small the serving size is, thinking they will starve to death if they follow this as a recommendation. It is not a recommendation.
The serving size tells the consumer that all the information on the Nutrition Facts panel is for that specific serving size. It is not saying that you cannot have more, nor do you need to eat that much.
Food manufacturers have no idea if the reader is a 78-year-old person or a 22-year-old athlete. It only knows what is in the package, so the label only addresses what is in the package and not the person reading it.
For example, before the recent update, the serving size of ice cream was ½ cup. No, that is not a typo, and stop laughing. People typically consumed that amount when the Nutrition Facts panel was introduced in the early 1990s. And, as much as people may still laugh at this, the new serving size for ice cream is now 2/3 cup. Of course, people tend to eat more than ½ cup, and some will eat more than 2/3 cup. But that is what the new label reflects: modern serving sizes for most foods.
Ice cream is one example of this serving size modification, of which there are many which do not need listing here.
Just know that the data on the label uses this servings size. If you choose to eat more or eat less, the numbers will go up or down accordingly. So yes, this is where we use fractions, multiplication, and division. It is always used in life, like it or not.
And the "new" version of the Nutrition Facts label has the serving size in a larger and bolder font than previously. Of course, it isn't the largest font size on the label, but it is there to draw the reader's eye to see the serving size.
Servings Per Container
One line above the "serving size" and the first line of the Nutrition Facts panel is the Servings Per Container.
Servings per container is another essential thing to look at when reviewing the information.
There are plenty of foods where people assume that one package is one serving. However, having taught college students for more than a decade - we have all learned that a package of ramen noodles is not one serving per container and a box of macaroni and cheese is also not one serving. Instead, ramen tends to have two servings per container – yes, TWO. And mac and cheese tend to have THREE servings per container (classic box).
And, while you may respond with "I don't eat those foods," – OK, but still pay attention. Take a closer look at that package of M&Ms – today, that is TWO servings in the apparent single-serve pack. While the nutrition label will state 240 calories per serving, the reality is the whole package is closer to 480 calories. Even though it may say "tear and share" on the front of the package, do you share your M&Ms with people? You know you hide them from your kids.
Previously, we considered a 20-ounce bottle of soda 2.5 servings because 8 ounces was a serving of a beverage in the early 90s. Now the 20-ounce bottle is a serving. Again, not a recommendation, but if you consume bottled drinks from teas, coffees, sodas, juices, and energy drinks, take a closer look. How many servings per container are there?
These servings per container again indicate how much (on average) is in that package. For example, I am looking at the bag of chocolate chips I bought from Costco. The serving size is 30 pieces (15 grams), and there is about 136 serving per container. Does this mean there are 4,080 chocolate chips in that package? There had better be, or I want a refund. This number means that there is 2.04 kg (15 g x 136 servings) of chocolate chips which may or may not be 4,080 chocolate chips.
It all comes down to an average.
CALORIES
The calories are the most significant, boldest font on the label now. We have got to get people to see this. So, the calories listed per serving is now an in-your-face-just-try-to-ignore-me-now font.
Even if you don't count calories, and I am not telling you to do this or not, it will say to the reader how much energy is in this food. Calories are the unit of energy human’s use. Seriously, it is JUST a unit of energy, not a value or measure of worth.
If one consumes that serving size of this food, that serving size will contain that many calories. More or less.
You see, the value is an average of 20% inaccuracy here.
And now, before throwing a tantrum, consider this. There will still be some variability if we have 100 apples from the same orchard, even from the same tree. Heck, you can weigh yourself every hour over a day (don't do that), and the number will not be the same every single time. It just won't. If it is, you are a freak of nature. And I say that with love.
So, my 30 chocolate chips previously noted are 70 calories. Or not. They could be 56 calories or 84 calories. Or somewhere in between. But really, the difference between 56 and 84 calories is 28 calories. It isn't a lot.
And if you are thinking about the M&Ms, I mentioned earlier. The whole package could be 384 calories or 576 calories. Now, take 10 of those M&Ms and send them to me to be safe. Or go ahead and share.
This +/- 20% isn't a way for food manufacturers to "get away" with anything. It just isn't. It acknowledges and allows for variability in food and preparation and averages things. Period. Let it go, and don't dwell. This variability will not make or break you or anyone unless they are trying to "make weight" for a big fight, and trust me, that 20% variability is the least of their concerns at that point.
Again, it is all about averages. And the calories per serving are the average.
Next Up Part 2: Fats, Cholesterol, Carbohydrates, and Protein
