Now serving a new food size

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Finally the FDA is moving out of the 1990s, and relooking at nutrition labeling.

Have you ever looked at the back of ice cream or cereals, and been satisfied that it's only 160 calories? However the part of the label everyone misses is the serving size. Or should I say size. When's the last time you ate a serving size of 6 potato chips?

Most serving sizes were designed for the way Americans ate 30 or even 50 years ago. For Capt'n Crunch cereal, the serving size is 3/4 cup or 27 grams (when's the last time you weighed your food in grams??) And when's the last time your kid measured out 3/4 of a cup in his bowl? It's more likely 2 to 3 times -- maybe 4 or 5 times -- that much that any kid eats. So the serving sizes are not helpful and plain misleading.

Let's make sure the FDA gets it right this time. Call your Congressman now.

NY Times: Consider the humble chip: most potato or corn chip bags today show a one-ounce serving size, containing a tolerable 150 calories, or thereabouts. But only the most disciplined snacker will stop at an ounce. For some brands, like Tostitos Hint of Lime, that can be just six chips.

So to get ready for front-of-package nutrition labeling, the F.D.A. is now looking at bringing serving sizes for foods like chips, cookies, breakfast cereals and ice cream into line with how Americans really eat. Combined with more prominent labeling, the result could be a greater sense of public caution about unhealthy foods.

“If you put on a meaningful portion size, it would scare a lot of people,” said Barry Popkin, a nutrition professor at the University of North Carolina. “They would see, ‘I’m going to get 300 calories from that, or 500 calories.’ ”

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