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Originally Posted by Lisa N
Unless the manufacturer is also misrepresenting the calorie counts (as well as fat and protein counts) on the label, there is also another way to check whether the carb count is accurate or not...do the math!
If the total calories from the reported carb, fat and protein counts don't add up to the reported total calorie count, something's fishy in Denmark.  |
Unfortunately, given the unclear and inconsistent US food labeling system, this simple method does not always work. Calorie counts generated in a laboratory are usually obtained by burning a sample of a food in a bomb calorimeter and measuring the heat generated. However, not everything that burns to produce heat in the lab is digested by the body. For example, fiber can burn to produce calories in a bomb calorimeter, but is not generally digested by the body. Some food labels therefore subtract the calories from fiber, but other include them (in which case the actual calorie count the food generates in our body is less than the label). Surprisingly, there is no FDA standard in the US that specifies how fiber and other undigested calories should be considered when making a food label. A search of the FDA regulations for labeling as given on their website shows a glaring absence of this and the
FAQ page of the USDA Nutrient Database even states that the 4-9-4 method of calorie calculation for entries in their database may include OR exclude fiber. The same would be true of other low digestability sources of carbohydrates, such as synergistic blends found in products like Dreamfields pasta.
There's an interesting (if somewhat hostile and off-topic) archived thread on this board that talks about US food labeling with regard to calories and fiber:
http://forum.lowcarber.org/archive/index.php/t-66690
A poster named Areiel called the US FDA in an attempt to solve the issue of whether undigested or low digested substances like fiber appeared in calorie counts on labels. Here's what she posted:
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Hello again all,
Since there appears to be no consensus here, I went ahead and
called the USDA and asked someone how they calculate calorie
values for their database. After being shuttled around for
about 30 minutes, I was able to talk to a nutritionist on
their staff. This is what they told me.
1. The measure of calories in food is simply the amount of
energy that food produces when burned. The assay by which
this is measured has nothing whatsoever to do with human
metabolism. So the fact that humans cannot digest fiber is
immaterial to the calorie count of a food.
2. Since fiber will burn when ignitied, fiber is included in
the total calorie count by the USDA.
3. There are no FDA guidelines for whether or not to include
calories from fiber on a nutritional label. However, the
numbers that one gets back from a lab include fiber, so
if a food company excludes fiber calories from the
calorie count on its label, it is making a conscious
decision to do so.
Hope this settles things,
Areiel
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It settles things basically by saying things are not settled as far as US food labels are concerned. This issue, and the ability to use simple math calculations to look for "hidden carbs", is going to be even more complicated by ingredient blends that have synergistic effects to lower digestable carbs. That is, for products such as Dreamfields pasta or possibily some low carbs breads. (Note here that I have no idea whether the bread discussed in the article at the start of this thread is low carb or not; I'm just saying that this whole issues of digestibility and calories and labeling is not simple.)
By the way, I'm a type 2 diabetic. I've had Dreamfields pasta three times--including for lunch today. It has a minimal effect on my blood sugar and it appears that, at least in my body, a serving does have only about 5 g digestible carbs. However, I can't say that everyone's body reacts the same way, just as different people have different reactions to sugar alcohols.