Nutrition Label Basics

Background

Nutrition labels have revolutionized the way we buy food -- especially for people on special diets. No longer is it necessary to restrict food choices to those products and brands that are known to be safe. Now we can simply read a label with its precisely-measured nutrients to make appropriate food choices. Or can we?

We should not forget that these labels are the result of the Nutrition Labeling and Education Act of 1990 (NLEA). It's intent was to encourage people to eat less fat. If your special diet doesn't fit the lowfat paradigm, it's important to know just how far you can trust the numbers on your food's "Nutrition Facts" label. Use our FAQs to educate yourself about US food labels and avoid needless mistakes. For Canadian labels, see Canadian Nutrition Labeling.

Before you proceed, make sure you are familiar with the "Nutrition Facts" label. (See this link for discussion of the basic label components.)

When the Nutrition Facts label on a dry mix lists the number of grams of carbohydrate per serving does that include the ingredients you add at home or is it just the powder by itself?

The Nutrition Facts label always lists the nutrition of the product as purchased -- even if it is a dry powder. If the product is a mix, the value listed in grams is for the dry mix. On all but the smallest packages, the label also lists percentages of recommended nutrients provided by the food as sold.

When the product requires preparation with additional ingredients, the next column usually lists percentages of recommended nutrients as prepared according to the package directions. If there is any possible variation such as using skim vs. regular milk, it has to identify how it was prepared. A zero is not the same thing as "not any." The basic rules for reporting the values (according to 21 CFR 101.9(c)(1)) call for rounding:

 

   Calories:       
     <5 can be reported as 0
     5-50 rounded to nearest 5 calorie increment
     >50 rounded to nearest 10 calorie increment

   Carbohydrates and Protein (grams):
     <0.5 can be reported as 0
     0.5-0.99 can be reported as "1" or as" less than 1" 
     >1 rounded to nearest gram

   Fats (grams):          
     <5 rounded to nearest half gram
     >5 rounded to nearest whole gram
     <0.5 grams total fat per serving: 0

Why doesn't the law require the labels to be more accurate than that?

Let's answer that question with another: How accurate are your kitchen measuring spoons and cups? Do you have a kitchen scale? To what measurement is it accurate?

Try this experiment: Take a standard US measuring cup which is supposed to hold 16 standard tablespoons. Fill a cup with water and try taking 16 tablespoons of liquid out of it. Did you come out exactly even? Try measuring 16 tablespoons of liquid into it. Do this several times. Did you get the same result each time? Then try the same thing with something that doesn't flow like water, such as honey or flour (you have to use them up anyway).

To keep it all in perspective, consider that a quarter teaspoon of water is approximately one gram. If you can't measure it accurately at home, is there any reason to require manufacturers -- and, therefore, ultimately consumers -- to pay for more expensive analyses than described elsewhere in this FAQ, or even to take up more room on the label to show fractions of a gram?

As you read further in this FAQ, you will discover that even the best labels are a whole lot less accurate than you may have thought.

Next: What the Labels Mean