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