False Nutrition Labels

I just discovered these tortillas from La Tortilla Factory that claim to have only 50 calories per tortilla... how can this be, when the ingredients are the same as other tortillas that have twice that many calories and aren't any bigger?  Should I be wary of the 50-cal claim? 

I know of so many other incidences where the company lied/gave out wrong nutrition info, and the actual calories turned out to be tons higher than it had stated on the label-- Dr. Praeger Burgers, Nutritious Creations bars, Nana's cookies, Celentano frozen meals, etc.

How can you know what labls to trust?!

 

Food labelling accuracy is governed by laws.  If you think the law is being flouted, complain to the relevant body... Trading Standards if you're in the UK, for example.  Check the information closely.  Is it 50 cals per tortialla, per 100g, or per 'serving'?  Sometimes there are dodges like giving the information for one 'serving' but making it slightly unclear that a 'serving' is half a tortilla..

I've just discovered these tortillas also and I was so excited that I had a good substitute for bread with my sandwiches.  Then I typed the info into the food log and it gave it a "C-"!  Looks like I'll be reviewing my lunch choices again.  As to which labels to trust I just don't know.  I thought that the government regulated nutritional labels but apparently there is a breakdown somewhere.

If the ingredients are the same, they may use more of one ingredient than another. For example, if a normal tortilla had 50g of flour and 30g of tomato paste and the La Tortilla had 40g flour and 60g tomato paste, it would have more of a low-calorie ingredient that would "make up" for the lack of the more calorie-heavy ingredient (flour).

... That's just a guess.

I completely appreciate your concern on this (definitely been there!) - they've actually decreased the calorie count on these (used to be 60 - though they may also have decreased this size), so I do feel that they are somewhat reliable!

I believe that in the US, they are allowed to subtract a certain amount of the calories from insoluble fiber from the calorie count (I think this is the case with Fiber One cereal as well - when I traveled to Canada a few years ago, the calorie count was almost double!).

Of course, like Muttlover - just a guess :0)

I used to buy the whole tortillas and they were high in carbs and fat, plus tons of ingredients ( more than 20) that were not healthy at all. Then I start buying WW low carb tortillas,  50 cal only, 2g fat and  10 g of carbs, the ingredients are less maybe 5 or 6.

LaTortilla Factory tortillas are so low calorie because in the US you can subtract for fiber, and the LTF tortillas have tons of fiber in them.

So how do you figure out what the ccalorie count is of something without the subtraction for fiber?  Is there a way?

The FDA may allow for subtractions due to fiber, but they would never allow anything to be terribly under estimated. They would never get away with DOUBLING a product's calories, so it's definately below 100 calories. You may just be curious, but honestly, it's only 50 calories we're talking about here.

No one here gained weight because they grabbed a Yoplait instead of a Lite 'N Fit yogurt (40 calorie difference). Relax, people. :)

Original Post by ncgirl30:

I believe that in the US, they are allowed to subtract a certain amount of the calories from insoluble fiber from the calorie count (I think this is the case with Fiber One cereal as well - when I traveled to Canada a few years ago, the calorie count was almost double!).

I'm going to bump this one for now and I will check on the Fibre One info when I get home.  I'm in Canada, maybe someone could post the cals and serving size from a US box of Fibre One.  I believe it is 100 or120 cals per 1/2 cup serving, but I will confirm later today.  I know I thought it was kinda high for what it is worth.

here you go!

 

  Calories 60 (Kilojoules 251)

          % DV**   Total Fat   1 g   2%      Sat. Fat   0 g   0%      Trans Fat   0 g       Cholesterol   0 mg   0%   Sodium   105 mg   4%   Total Carbs.   25 g   8%      Dietary Fiber   14 g   56%      Sugars   0 g       Protein   2 g       Calcium   100 mg       Potassium   180 mg    

Fibre 1 Original (Purchased in Canada)

Serving Size : 1/2 cup (30g)

Cereal plus 125ml 2% milk = 160

Cereal Only Calories =100

%DV** Total Fat 0.5 g 1% Sat. Fat 0 g 0% Trans Fat 0 g Cholesterol 0 mg 0% Sodium 105 mg 4% Total Carbs. 25 g 8% Dietary Fiber 14 g 56% Sugars 0 g Protein 2 g Calcium 10% Potassium amount not listed

So assuming the post I am quoting is also for 1/2 cup or 30g serving there does appear to be quite a difference in US and Canadian calorie reporting!!!

Edit:  This must be also why I see sometime people have mentioned like 50 calories for a slice of bread or tortilla.  The lowest bread I can find anywhere after searching high and low is for 75 calories and this is kinda a small sized loaf.  Also the best I seem to be able to find is 150 cal/tortilla.

Wow, so does that mean that in the US, EVERY food with fiber has an inaccurate calorie amount???

"Wow, so does that mean that in the US, EVERY food with fiber has an inaccurate calorie amount???"

Pretty much. I honestly think it's annoying that they do that, but no one else seems to mind for some reason

http://www.calorie-count.com/forums/post/9364 9.html

Original Post by annie-g:

Wow, so does that mean that in the US, EVERY food with fiber has an inaccurate calorie amount???

I don't know. I will post a few more high fiber foods purchased in Canada. Maybe others can post the comparisons to US?!

All Bran Honey Nut Flavored Cereal - Serving 1 cup (59g)

Cereal only Calories 190 & Fibre 11g

Fibre 1 Oats & Peanut Butter Bar - 35g

Calories 150 & Fibre 5g

Fibre 1 Oats & Chocolate Bar - 35g

Calories 140 & Fibre 5g

All Bran Honey Nut Flavor Bar - 30g

Calories 130 & Fibre 4g

Quaker Oats - 1/3 cup (30g)

Calories 120 & Fibre 3g

Red River High Fibre Hot Cereal - 1/4 cup (40g dry)

Calories 150 & Fibre 6g

Original Post by moscovite82:

"Wow, so does that mean that in the US, EVERY food with fiber has an inaccurate calorie amount???"

Pretty much. I honestly think it's annoying that they do that, but no one else seems to mind for some reason

http://www.calorie-count.com/forums/post/9364 9.html

So is CC+ made in the US? Would this affect the #'s for example of fruit? Gala apples show 1.5g of fibre, would these fibre calories be subtracted?

http://caloriecount.about.com/cc/item/69442.h tml

Flygirl, I think it's only for certain (mostly commercial) products, though I'm not sure how exactly they are selected. Fibre One is one of them... they say it's only 60 calories in 1/2 cup, when it's really 100.

You can easily figure out if the fibre was subtracted though by adding it up yourself: 1g fat = 9 cals, 1g protein = 4, 1g carbs = 4

So for a Gala apple if you go by this http://www.calorie-count.com/calories/item/88 062.html, 16*4+0.5*9+0.2*4 = about 70... so here I don't think they subtracted it...

They only are able to not count insoluable fiber. This is because this type of carb is not able to be digested at all my the body (ie they pass all the way through, why people who eat high fiber diets have better bowel movements).

In the US, commercial products can only not count the fiber grams that are for all intents and purposes calorie-free. There is no way for the body to break down these materials and cannot get energy for it. Different carb types have different calorie counts because of the body's ability to break them down. Sugar alcohols for example have less than 4 calories per gram because they are structured differently and are not digested the same way as sugar. This is reflected in the total calorie count.

Edit: This must be also why I see sometime people have mentioned like 50 calories for a slice of bread or tortilla. The lowest bread I can find anywhere after searching high and low is for 75 calories and this is kinda a small sized loaf. Also the best I seem to be able to find is 150 cal/tortilla.

Actually, the bread I use is only 35 calories a slice. Each slice is on the smaller side and it seems to have more air incorporated into the dough, but ti's still very good.

http://www.caloriesperhour.com/tutorial_gram. php

 

If you want to count the insoluble fiber calories, then multiply it out yourself.  The fact that a person can find the "actual" calorie count by themselves, but not the count without some fiber might be why the US doesn't require the former count on labels  

I am also in Canada, and often wondered what people were talking about with Fiber One, because the boxes here did not show the same nutritional info that people were talking about.   I often wondered why some brands had such different calorie counts between the US and Canada.  They seem to be mostly high fiber items, so this thread has helped explain a lot of the differences!