The FDA wants nutritional information, including calorie counts, on the front of food packages. The FDA also wants a serving size that is based on reality. When serving sizes are less than what an actual american is going to put in their mouth folks get bad information. Look in the mirror, are you over weight or out of shape?
I am going to call out names!
WHEE (Weight, Health, Eating and Exercise) is a community support diary for Kossacks who are currently or planning to start losing, gaining or maintaining their weight through diet and exercise or fitness. Any supportive comments, suggestions or positive distractions are appreciated. If you are working on your weight or fitness, please -- join us! You can also click the WHEE tag to view all diary posts.
Hey KELLOGG you are up first.
I eat a bowl of Special K some mornings.
One serving is a cup of special K. It has 120 Calories. 220 mg sodium. 4 grams of sugar and if you read to the bottom it has sugar as the third ingredient and High Fructose Corn Syrup as the sixth ingredient.
But if you look at the picture on the box it shows a large bowl with about three cups of cereal.
And Poptarts list a box of 16 toaster pastries as 200 calories per serving, but they package two poptarts in an individual pack. So open a pack and you are getting 400 calories or two actual servings.
Hey Foster Farms what is up with the mini corn dogs? They are only 220 calories per serving but a serving is only 4 mini corn dogs. The packaging shows 10 corn dogs on the cover, it looks like a nice snack. But eating all 10 would actually be 550 calories. Hmm? Is this truth in advertising?
How about KRAFT?
They have the cheesiest Macaroni and Cheese. Just read the box, it says so. One box is three servings. OK, I can split it into three plates. But on it's nutrition facts it lists calories as In Box and Prep. So if you take a quick look it says 260 calories for a serving, but that is in box (like people actually eat this stuff straight out of the box - does the calorie count include the paper packaging for the cheese mix, it is in the box) if you actually cook the product and add the water, milk and butter as required it is 410 calories per serving.
From the article linked above:
For ice cream, the serving size is half a cup. For packaged muffins, it is often half a muffin. For cookies it is generally one ounce, equal to two Double Stuf Oreos. For most children’s breakfast cereals, a serving is three-quarters of a cup......
Healthy Choice soups, made by ConAgra Foods, are sold in 14-ounce microwaveable bowls. Although they appear to be meant for one person, the label says they contain “about two servings.”
Many of the soups are billed as “Heart Healthy” and claim to have a reasonable amount of salt per serving. But a shopper has to examine the label closely to understand that the salt claim refers to half a bowl. A full bowl may contain close to half the daily salt allowance recommended for people with high blood pressure.
Additional concerns are raised over how honest the labels actually are. One study states One in Four Food Nutrition Labels Lists IncorrectInformation. And they found that products which were labeled as low in sodium, low in carbs, and low in fat proved to have the most inaccurate labels.
In testing in the past couple of years, Florida found: Sugar in sugar free coconut pies sold at Walmart. Sugar in sugar free syrup made by Walden Farms. More sodium than claimed in Orville Redenbacher Popcorn Cakes. Sugar in sugar free Hill & Valley Apple Walnut Muffins. Fat exceeding the labels claim in Publix whole wheat hamburger buns. More sugar than the labels claim in Sunsweet prune juice.
So how many calories are there in that fist full of chips? Potato chips I looked up were 10 to 20 calories per chip. A few fists full of chips during the game could be 500 to a thousand calories.
We are not a nation of informed consumers. As awareness spreads more families are learning to be label readers. But with deceptive values and product images that show far more than the actual serving the information is often flawed and intentionally misleading. This may even be fraud.
Take a look at the food in your home and look closely at the labels.
We all need to be informed consumers. Perhaps the Obama Administration will get truth in food packaging to move forward.
Feb. 8
Mon AM - NC Dem (weekly diary)
Mon PM - ???
Feb. 9
Tues AM - ???
Tues PM - Clio2 (Kessler, Ch. 48) (if weather permits)
Feb. 10
Weds AM - ???
Weds PM - Edward Spurlock (weekly diary)
Feb. 11
Thurs AM - ???
Thurs PM - ???
Feb. 12
Fri AM - ???
Fri PM - Wee Mama (weekly diary)
Feb. 13
Sat AM - ???
Sat PM - Edward Spurlock (weekly diary)