Food label accuracy of common snack foods
Open accessAbstract
Nutrition labels have raised awareness of the energetic value of foods, and represent for many a pivotal guideline to regulate food intake. However, recent data have created doubts on label accuracy. Objective: We tested label accuracy for energy and macronutrient content of prepackaged energy‐dense snack food products. We measured “true” caloric content of 24 popular snack food products in the U.S. and determined macronutrient content in 10 selected items. Design and Methods: Bomb calorimetry and food factors were used to estimate energy content. Macronutrient content was determined according to Official Methods of Analysis. Calorimetric measurements were performed in our metabolic laboratory between April 20th and May 18th and macronutrient content was measured between September 28th and October 7th of 2010. Results and Conclusion: Serving size, by weight, exceeded label statements by 1.2% [median] (25th percentile −1.4, 75th percentile 4.3, P = 0.10). When differences in serving size were accounted for, metabolizable calories were 6.8 kcal (0.5, 23.5, P = 0.0003) or 4.3% (0.2, 13.7, P = 0.001) higher than the label statement. In a small convenience sample of the tested snack foods, carbohydrate content exceeded label statements by 7.7% (0.8, 16.7, P = 0.01); however fat and protein content were not significantly different from label statements (−12.8% [−38.6, 9.6], P = 0.23; 6.1% [−6.1, 17.5], P = 0.32). Carbohydrate content explained 40% and serving size an additional 55% of the excess calories. Among a convenience sample of energy‐dense snack foods, caloric content is higher than stated on the nutrition labels, but overall well within FDA limits. This discrepancy may be explained by inaccurate carbohydrate content and serving size.
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Food energy labels are allowed a margin of variability, with calorie counts fluctuating by up to 20% according to regulatory standards, and in practice discrepancies can be as high as 60%.
“Firstly, food energy labels are allowed a margin of variability, with calorie counts fluctuating by up to 20% according to regulatory standards; however, in practice, discrepancies can be as high as 60% [3,4].”
From Beyond Calories: Individual Metabolic and Hormonal Adaptations Driving Variability in Weight Management—A State-of-the-Art Narrative Review (2024) · cites this paper as [4]
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- Authors
- Jumpertz, R., Venti, C. A., Le, D. S., Michaels, J., Parrington, S., Krakoff, J., & Votruba, S.
- Affiliations
- National Institutes of Health (US)
- Corresponding author
- Votruba, Susanne
- Venue
- Obesity
- Publisher
- Wiley
- Published
- 2013-01
- Volume
- 21
- Issue
- 1
- Pages
- 164-169
- ISSN
- 1930-7381 (ISSN-L)
- 1930-739X
- PMC
- PMC3605747
- OpenAlex
- W2091001931
- Cited by
- 46
- References
- 16
- Citations by year
- 2026: 3 · 2025: 2 · 2024: 2 · 2023: 4 · 2021: 9 · 2020: 4 · 2019: 5 · 2018: 5 · 2017: 5 · 2016: 1 · 2015: 4 · 2014: 1 · 2013: 1
- FWCI
- 2.39
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- bronze
- doi.org
- Locations
- Obesity (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
- Funders
- National Institutes of Health (Z99 DK999999, Z99 OD999999, Z99 DA999999)
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health › Consumer Attitudes and Food Labeling
- Life Sciences › Agricultural and Biological Sciences › Food Science › Food and Agricultural Sciences
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health › Nutrition and Health Studies
- Keywords
- snacks, energy content, macronutrient composition, serving size, carbohydrate content, bomb calorimetry, packaged foods
- MeSH terms
- Energy Intake, Calorimetry, Diet, Dietary Carbohydrates, Food Labeling, Humans, Snacks
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