Big Business lying about calorie content?

I thought this would probably be of interest to everyone here -- the link I'm providing goes to an article on CBC regarding false advertising with regards to the calorie content in popular fast food chains and freezer brands (including Weight Watchers!)

~steampunk

Link

Fri. Jan 8, 2:44pm

Just another reason why I think counting calories is silly.

Friday, January 8, 2010, 5:27 PM

simple solution- don't eat fast food.

Friday, January 8, 2010, 6:36 PM

I don't think the companies are lying. There will be variations from the mark. And as the article says, "The study showed most of the packaged food tested fell within the 20 per cent margin of error allowed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration." The FDA allows a margin of error because it is unrealistic to expect the stated calorie content will be exactly on the mark.

Friday, January 8, 2010, 6:56 PM

No, they are not lying, and the article says right up front that is not the issue.

Even with some innaccuracy in nutrition information counts, it is still valuable as a comparison guide. "This is better for my diet than that" If Calories are the all in all for someone, it can be invaluable, because we can not intuit always whether one sandwich is higher in calories than than a salad. Often it is not true! So while the exact numbers may be off, the comparisons are not.

Friday, January 8, 2010, 7:50 PM

Yeah, but titling the post with something outrageous got you to click it, didn't it? Part information, part social experiment.

~steam

Friday, January 8, 2010, 9:15 PM

I would have clicked on it to find out the story on the variation, even had you not resorted to sensationalism, but you are probably right about many. Are you a journalist, perhaps? If not, perhaps you missed your calling? LOL

mariarose (PP)

Friday, January 8, 2010, 9:19 PM

I could not fathom spendng my life checking to see if the no name brand of cheese has fewer calories than the cracker barrel cheese. Or to see if Hunt's tomato paste has fewer calories than the store brand. Or weighing out my steak or chicken to determine the caloric value of it.

If you truly control what you eat and take the time to make it yourself, you're not stuck wondering what restaurant sandwich has fewer calories.

Saturday, January 9, 2010, 12:54 AM

But I can't always fix everything myself, nor am I always the one in charge of choosing a place :-( , so nutritional guides can be helpful as guidelines for some. That is all I was saying.

mariarose

Saturday, January 9, 2010, 11:25 AM

Actually you can fix everything your own, and you don't have to go out for food. There are a tonne of ways to do business or socialize that don't involve going out to restaurants, it's a matter of choice. All my friends adore coming over here to eat instead of going out.

It's just a matter of choices. You either believe your health is more important than what friends think/do, or you trust your health to a corporate giant.

Saturday, January 9, 2010, 6:47 PM

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