Active Low-Carber Forums - View Single Post - Black soy beans "0 carbs"??? Is this for real???

Sadly, it's not.

This was a hot topic a while back and I'm quoting an informative post by Doreen T on it. The fiber has been pre-subtracted from the effective carb count so when you again subtract the fiber, it looks like 1 carb, but it's not.

Quote:

This is becoming more and more the norm ... in both Canada and the US. I have looked into the labelling requirements, and it seems that manufacturers are permitted to pre-subtract fiber, and there is no requirement for them to declare that they have done so on the label. They are only required to list both the carbs and the fiber in grams. It's up to the consumer to work out the calories.

**NOTE - apparently this is most often done with "high fiber foods", ie, the fiber content is 5g or more per serving of the product.

However, I have noticed things like generic branded frozen green beans ... you work out the prot/fat/carbs per the calories listed, and it works out that the fiber has already been subtracted. I wish there was some sort of consistency, but there's not.

I will continue to watch this closely, and will keep us all posted of anything new. In the meantime, it seems to be wise to do the math first -- don't just assume you can subtract the fiber grams from the total carbs to get the Effective Carb Count. Chances are the subtracting has already been done. This is especially of concern for diabetics who base their insulin dosages on carb intake.

Karen