We insulin users have long suspected that the carbohydrate counts on packaged food nutrition labels are not particularly accurate. Who’s with me here?
So in the spirit of turning over a new leaf for a new year, we decided to dig into this a little and find out how nutrition labels are made. Warning: we didn’t much like what we discovered.
Did you know that just like with blood glucose result accuracy, the FDA also allows a margin of error up to 20% on the calorie counts and other values of packaged foods?
In part that’s because the FDA doesn’t actually play an active role in creating the nutritional labels for food. Instead, it’s left up to each individual company to test their foodstuffs and compile their nutritional facts.
The FDA website states: “FDA does not have the resources to analyze products upon request. However, FDA will collect surveillance samples to monitor the accuracy of nutrition information. The manufacturer, packer or distributor would be advised of any analytical results that are not in compliance. Additionally, depending on circumstances, FDA may initiate regulatory action.”
So companies work with a set of guidelines, often assisted by professional testing outfits like Intertek. They’re left to self-police, unless they are selected by the FDA to be “audited” for some reason.
But the FDA’s inspection and enforcement is “minimal and disorganized,” according to the Government Accountability Office (GAO). That agency actually released a 60-page report last January titled, “Food Labeling: FDA Needs to Reassess Its Approach to Protecting Consumers from False and Misleading Claims.” Yikes!!
That report focuses mainly on the misleading nature of health claims (high in fiber! one-third less fat! etc.) Meanwhile, there’s pretty much a 1 in 4 chance that the specific numbers on any given nutrition label you’re looking at are inaccurate, according to an exposé by the finance blog WalletPop. They note that the number of FDA inspections of food testing facilities is undocumented but clearly declining, and “using the FDA’s own data, the GAO found that 24% of tested samples were not accurate. When a company was found to have an erroneous label, the GAO found that the company might have received a warning letter, but that little was documented as to what happened thereafter.”
“If something goes unmonitored long enough, problems are going to pop up,” said Mark French (quoted in WalletPop), who oversees food testing at the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services labs — the leading public food testing operation in the nation.
Although most articles and studies on nutrition labels focus on calories — the primary number Americans track in their food — there’s also been public outcry about how carbohydrate claims can mislead consumers. Don’t we know it!
Back in 2008, Good Morning America ran an independent test on 12 packaged foods, and found that all of them had at least one component that was higher than what was listed, and three products had underestimated negative components by more than 20%: “David’s Sunflower Seeds with 23% more saturated fat, Ritz Crackers with 36% more sodium and Wonderbread with 70% more total fat.”
Wow, so while the FDA is ultra-cautious with diabetes technology, they’re A-OK with letting manufacturers do pretty much whatever they want with respect to the product labels of food that PWDs — and the rest of the country — eat every day? Food components like trans fat, saturated fat, sodium and even carbs, that could potentially cause health problems for millions of people? Huh…?
It seems the last time food labeling was addressed in legislation was in 1990 with the Nutrition Labeling and Education Act. So in 2009, the food industry watchdog group Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) issued a call for food labeling reform, asking the FDA to:
- Require that all health-related claims be reviewed by the FDA prior to marketing to ensure they are scientifically valid,
- Prohibit claims that a food is low in trans fats, unless the food is also low in saturated fat and cholesterol,
- Require that claims for so-called “Natural” foods meet specific standards, and
- Require that claims such as “made with whole wheat,” be permitted only if the product discloses the amount of whole wheat (as percentage of total grain).
The food industry itself has responded with an aggressive new marketing move. It has created an initiative to make the labels easier for shoppers to read and interpret, called “Facts Up Front”. This new labeling system features simplified serving sizes and uses big, clear icons to show consumers what’s inside. This system is soon to hit supermarket 
shelves, accompanied by a $50 million promotional blitz.
Note that these bolder labels are easier to read indeed, but there’s still no guarantee of the accuracy of information displayed! Where is the additional oversight?
In a story on the drawbacks of this new food labeling system, CSPI director Michael Jacobson noted that creating proper criteria for vetted nutritional standards for consumers like those the Institute of Medicine developed for schools, and getting this approved by the FDA, could take years. “You could be in a nursing home by then,” he says. Aaarrrgh!
Bottom line: There’s not much we can do in the immediate future to make nutrition labels more accurate, so it’s important to keep these shortcomings in mind when you’re left wondering why the heck a perfectly carb-counted meal landed you at 287 mg/dl. I’m afraid we PWDs will just have to stay focused on the age-old method of trial and error!
Thanks for this post! The way I see it, labels not being 100% accurate is the same as the fact that each time we give insulin, a different varying amount isn’t absorbed. So I try to not eat foods that even have a label (typically processed food) and I try to keep insulin intake low in order to minimize the margins of error. Those two things take care of a lot because let’s face it, stress, pain, exercise, etc, all cause enough blood sugar deviation.
All of this is yet another reason why the notion of genuine glycemic control is more wishful thinking than being based in reality. It is for this reason that most PWDs who have lived with diabetes for any time view the notion of “control” as much of an art as it is science.
I agree with Sysy 100% – when I eat less processed, more REAL foods, my blood sugars are so much better and I feel amazing.
The new labeling system is worthless for PWDs because Sugar has replaced Carbs and they aren’t the same thing. Sugar has all sorts of things deducted (e.g. sugar alcohol) which we dare not subtract if we want an accurate carb count to plug into a pump or use with a bolus ratio. Using only a fraction of the total carbs to calculate insulin dosage will guarantee horribly high numbers post-meal, which equals several hours wasted trying to bring them down.
Great topic, and I really appreciate the research and resources cited. While I’m ordinarily glad to at least have a label, it is really frustrating to eat an entire meal or snack of foods, all with labels, count it correctly, and still get an off-target BG reading. In addition to all the numerous variables that might account for a high or low, it makes me mad that carb labeling, which could be accurate, isn’t. It continuously astounds me that the government allows the food industry to self-police itself as much as it does.
At least food labels are still good for making art projects though
It should be no surprise that FDA can’t do the job it’s supposed to do. Regulators have seen their budgets and staff cut as they take more and more blame as “job killers” by politicians with ulterior (pro-industry) motives. This is why we need regulation, to protect the public.
Helpful hint: most food labels are fairly accurate, in my experience, it’s the portion sizes that aren’t. Ie. you get a package of hamburger buns, and one might weight 59g and another might weigh 45g. The nutritional info will say something like “serving size, 1 bun (49g). For prepackaged food, even bread, I often weigh it to verify the portion size. If the weight of a portion size disappears off the labels, I’ll be devastated.
Susan F: Can you provide evidence to your statement that “most food labels are fairly accurate”? What does “fairly” mean? is it within the 20% accuracy as the FDA suggests or even higher? Do you have a citation to show tests that have been done to demonstrate that they are “fairly accurate”? or is simply a gut feeling or trust? I am curious. Thank you.
Yes, it confirms that we can’t depend on the manufactures to give us accurate counts. I have found that stuff that should be fine, low-carb fare is far from it. From experience, I have had to eliminate foods that looked perfect on paper (label).
Many times, the results we get with certain foods are better indicators than the label.
I operate like Sysy, small doses of carb and insulin to keep things predictable.
I haven’t found the labels to be that out of whack, then again I’m in canada so many it’s slight different here (or not I really can’t say) but I also don’t eat a lot of processed foods if I can well help it (not fond of the sodium counts to start with). It would be very nice if the food industry was subject to actual testing for what they produce since they are directly linked to people’s health in general (as in if they are giving wrong info, then even if you are following the labels its not being healthy for you).
But like another poster I also measure everything that goes into me, and ya I have found that breads and other baked items not to be accurate – but I also know that such items always say on the labels apx serving size or something similor which is what is giving them the lee way (and many people over look when reading the label) that and many people still seem to think a single serving is a while can when in most cases a can of something = two servings.
I’m with Sysy and Allison, too! A simple electronic kitchen scale lets me weigh things quickly, and I find cooking enjoyable, so it’s more relaxing than stressful to gather locally grown produce each Sunday night to make lunches and prep dinners for the first half of the week (my husband does the second half).
The fewer foods with labels that I eat, the better that I feel generally. And since there’s more and more evidence each day that the FDA is inefficient and ineffective, I feel more comfortable knowing the people who grow my food, instead of wondering who at the government agency cursorily stamped approval on a package.
Okay, this is about cans and processed food. And, it’s a very good point. But, lets talk hot lunch at school. Check out the governments web site. Is there a carb count anywhere? Do any of the schools provide any type of carb count for the kids who have free lunch and are insulin dependent? They don’t here!
Sorry, meant to direct my comment to you – see my comment above regarding hot lunch.
The hot lunch vendor should have a dietitian who can provide you with nutrition info, including carb counts. Ask your school nurse for help in obtaining this info ( I’m a school nurse and when I need nutrition info for a student, I contact the food service company and they are able to provide me with nutrition info for every item on the menu). I believe schools are required to provide the info…
I discovered this problem while working as a school nurse. It may not be the same everywhere, but where I was it was an issue.
So BigFood is misleading us?
Horrors! Who would thunk it?
(Sarcasm off now.)
Yes I am Trusted on Nutrition labels. But its also true that labels are not always accurate. Anyway share a very nice information. Thanks for share this.
THE WHOLE WHEAT COUNCIL PEMITS HIGH LEVELS OF WHITE FOUR IN THE PRODUCTS BEARING THEIR RECOMMENDATIONS .ITS BEEN AWHILE SINCE I SPOKE WITH THEM, BUT I THINK ITS MORE THAN HALF WHITE AND STILL THE PACKAGE ADVERTIZES WHOLE GRAIN. ECCE PANIS, INC. A NATIONAL DISTRIBUTOR OUT OF BRUNSWICK NJ……HAS A PROMINATE SECOND INGREDIENT LABELS LISTING WHOLE GRAIN FIRST AND A SMALL OFFICIAL INGREDIENTS LABLE LIST WHITE FLOUR FIRST with all the susal incorrect multigrain, eat well, good source of fiber BS and never mind the percentages. A&P has a wholewheat bread from Canada that is excellent and I hope really whole wheat.