FOOD FOR THOUGHT
In food labeling, size matters
By Wanda A. Adams
Advertiser Food Editor
As more Americans become label readers, there's one all-important statistic that's part of the standard Nutrition Facts panel that is almost more important than any other. That is, serving size.
Too often, consumers assume that because an item is packaged singly, it is considered a single serving. This can result in consuming a lot more fat, sodium or sugar, and a lot less nutrition, than you think you're getting.
One example that caused my eyes to bulge was a drink I praised in this column some time ago: Arizona brand Orange Ade, which to me resembles the X-Change Orangeade of my childhood and is a very pleasant thirst quencher on a hot day. Pleasant, yes, and I thought of it as something that fell into the "not too bad" category. But then I discovered that a single 23-ounce can is considered to be three servings, so the numbers I was looking at (100 calories, 25 grams sugar) should be tripled. (Granted, I don't usually drink a whole 23 ounces at a sitting, but the fact remains that I thought I was getting a whole lot less sugar and calories than turned out to be the case. And, P.S., I still drink the orangeade, but less often.)
If I had the ear of someone in the right place for just a moment, this is one I'd have something to say about: Manufacturers should not be allowed to get away with super-sizing things and then trying to fool the consumer with a nutrition breakdown that divides the item into smaller-than-reality serving sizes.
Items packaged singly should be labeled with a nutrition breakdown that applies to the whole contents of the package. Cereal in the usual family-size box, for example, would be labeled as it is now, per 1-ounce serving. But a cereal energy bar would be labeled as a single serving.
After being fooled a few times, I've developed this rule of thumb: If the thing you're holding in your hand is bigger than hockey puck, looks like more than a half a cup in volume (about 100 grams), or weighs more than 2-3 ounces (60-90 grams), it's probably more than one serving. Check the Nutrition Facts label. The second line says "Servings per container." That's the number to note.
This is particularly important to consider when you're comparing one product to another.
Last week, I neglected to note serving sizes in a comparison of oat cake brands in a Taste section story, resulting in an incorrect impression. For the record, Starbucks' oat cakes are two servings per cake (3.5 ounces each), which means they have less fat (3 grams compared to 4.5) and protein (8 grams) but more carbohydrate (48 grams) than Balance brand Protein Oatcakes found in local health clubs.
