Do you believe the cals in prepackaged food?
A lot of the times they seem questionable...especially ones like prepackaged sandwhiches. Example: they make these hummus on ciabatta roll sandwhiches at my campus food place, which are supposedly only 260 calories? And its not like a baby ciabatta roll or anything. How do you estimate how "correct" these counts are? Jw.
Are you sure it says it's 260cals for the whole sandwich or does it say for 1/2?
It says for the whole thing. it's basically a ciabatta roll with hummus and cucumbers so i'm thinking more along the lines of at least 300-350. Idk though.
It all depends on the manufacturing environment. If sandwiches are being produced in factories by robots programmed to dollop precisely X amount of hummus on a roll precisely Y big then the calorie count might be reasonably close. But if they're made at the campus cafeteria there could be variations in how much one is filled compared to another.
The only way you can be sure of the count would be to make one yourself and weigh the ingredients..... or buy one and dismember it!
haha yes very true gi-jane!
but...do you think it could somehow be possible that a ciabatta roll is that low cal? since..they're kind of fluffy? probably not, but its worth a try.
Hummus isn't particularly high in calories ... 50g (which would be quite a lot in a sandwich) is only 90 cals. If the ciabatta roll is 80g (3oz) that would be around 170 cals.
I've seen semi medium-sized muffins with a 160kcal value. Pretty shocking and it taste just like real muffins too! I don't believe it though, don't want to risk to actually intake 200kcals more. I guess it all depends whether it is within a reasonable range.
260 sounds resonable if its a roll, but if its a sub then definatly not.
I usually believe nutritional info but yesterday i was looking at my food log and i noticed that 300g of preacked potato wedges in oil and herb dressing was supposed to be 180cal, but when i put in 300g of just raw potato on CC,for my jacket potato it was over 200 calories for 280g.
I dont believe potato wedges in an oil dressing can be less than the same weight in raw otato, so either CC is wrong, or the packet is!
You could always double check the calories in other databases, such as:
http://www.thecaloriecounter.com
http://www.calorieking.com/foods/
http://www.acaloriecounter.com
I do not know which counter is more reliable. I just googled them this minute.
What I normally do is that I compare what the food states and what CC states.
I tend to find that they are sneaky and will say per 100g but the actual item is 180g or something similar you do have to be really careful about reading it but overall I do believe them and if I am very much in doubt then I just round it up to be careful that I am not understating.
On one hand, they probably aren't very accurate. On the other hand, everything else we calculate (our burn rate, for instance) is just based on estimates and averages as well, and won't necessarily be accurate (and it could be over or under).
I've just had to accept that all the numbers we are working with are estimates, and work on it from there.
I believe them, provided that you read the serving size carefully. I might not trust the FDA with some things, but it's fully capable of exercizing its authority in that regard, and it's not worth it for acompany to put false amounts on packaging. If you ever see something that is really, seriously, way out there wrong, you can report it by calling the consumer complaint hotline for your state. If it seems like your school is consistently misrepresenting information on its labels, you can also call.
http://www.fda.gov/opacom/backgrounders/compl ain.html
Personally, I'm usually not concerned about it. I do the best I can, and if it seems low I round up. (although of course weight-gainers should round down)
The reason I think that the labels are questionable is that they always some how come magically dividable by 5. You never see anything but 0s or 5s on the end of a nutrition facts label when calories are concerned.
I just wonder, do they round up or down? And by how much?
On the other hand, it is one of those things we will never know, and thinking too much about it will just create more worries and obsessions... so I say it's good to question, but don't let it worry you too much! If you're really suspicious about a product, I'd say choose something else for lunch.
hmm this is very true, its so not worth it to worry and obsess over how "correct" the counts are! No point.
I think for the most per serving is more or less accurate. There is a fudge factor of course. What is deceiving is number of servings in the package. Usually it's more then what is stated.
UD
Sorry I have one more question-how would you eyeball say the size of the ciabatta roll? I don't have a food scale and don't plan on buying one since that would be a little over the top anal in my dorm haha..
if hey are from a credible company i find that they are quite trustworthy......you do have some pre packed andwaches with just the calories for a hundred grams not the whole pack the worst was i once saw a sandwich with the energy in kilojoules.......
also a typical ciabatta roll is around 150-200 cals depending on the size
Original Post by kapo:
also a typical ciabatta roll is around 150-200 cals depending on the size
Are you sure about this? that seems kind of low, although that would be nice haha
Over here in uk i think the supermarkets do pre packaged rolls in a pack of six and each roll is around 150- 200 depending on the supermarket .......the best thing to do is weigh it .
I'm not sure about your sandwiches made on campus- I suppose it depends how generous the person serving you is?! However, I know for a fact that in the UK, the cals on pre-packed sandwiches is VERY accurate.
A few years a go I was a poor student and spent two summer holidays working in a sandwich factory that made sandwiches for all the major supermarkets and petrol stations. We would have to accurately weigh everything that went onto the sandwich- whether it be prawns, ham, cheese, etc... We would have a big food tray of a particular ingredient on a massive scale and every handful we picked up we would either get a green light- which meant you were in the correct weight range, or a red or orange light depending on wether you were over or under weight, respectively- in which case you had to put some back or pick some more up before putting it on the sandwich. We were warned numereous times a day to only put the correct weight of filling on the sandwich- only when we have a green light on the scale- otherwise we would be FIRED INSTANTLY. Apparently the company would be in a great deal of trouble if the sandwiches were over- or under-weight because if it doesn't correspond to the nutrient information on the label then it's illegal and against the law!! -that's in the UK anyway!
I guess it doesn't matter too much in terms of calorie counting- but they were also VERY strick on the number of slices of tomato and cucumber you put on the sandwich!
After my experience, I always try and make my own sandwiches- you know EXACTLY what has gone into it, -it's probably better quality ingredients too- and it's fresher and nicer.
Jenny XXX
Oh its actually a prepackaged sandwhich that they just sell at the campus stores..not ones made by the people serving. I just have such a hard time believeing an entire ciabatta roll with hummus could only be 260 cals! But I also have no idea how to eyeball the portion sizes of bread so maybe its actually true.
