While looking at some labels I have noticed that there are many times where the listed breakdowns of some nutrient do not add up to the totals. For example an item I was looking at the other day had the following:

Total Fat = 4g
Saturated Fat = 0.05 g

Total Carb = 19g
Sugars = 12g
Fiber = 3g

Now what accounts for the untold descrepencies within these products? How do you make sure that 1/3 of your fats are coming from the 3 main sources if a certain amount of them are unreported?

What are the labels referring to exactly?

You can't just look at the overall percentage, you have to look at polyunsaturated fat, monounsaturated fat, and saturated fat - and of course trans fats, which nobody needs.

With carbs, there are different things too, dietary fiber, flour, oats or grains etc...sugars.

I agree, it sucks. What item was it that you were looking at?

~Nicole

Calcium: The item I was looking at for the example was my roomate's prego sauce. Another recent example is the breakdown of cauliflower on FitDay. The fats do not add up to the total grams and neither to the carbs.

AJP: I am not sure what you mean. I thought that the general rule of thumb was to have 1/3 of your fats come from Saturated, 1/3 come from Poly, and 1/3 from mono with no trans. The totals of these in the example described does not add up. There is something missing in the breakdown.

It's about semantics and the degree of disclosure required. In the above example, the other 4g of carbs is from something which is not required to be labeled as a sugar or fiber. They are not required to disclose more than they have, so they choose not to for one of several possible reasons.

Does that make sense?

Chris: That makes sense and that is what I figured. What my main concern is that if say you eat 60g of fat through the day and 30g fall into that unclassified category (shouldn't happen but makes the math easier). Should the remaining 30 grams be divided evenly between saturated, poly, and mono? Would that satisfy the body's daily needs?

The fat except for that .5grams is either Mono or polyunsaturated fats. Read the ingredients to find out which. List the oils used and we will tell you if its polly or mono.

As for total carbs, im not quite sure. The sugars and fiber should combine to the total of 19grams. It could be possible that each serving has a "varying" amount thus they give a more "General" amount rather then "exact"total.

You just have to do your best at guessing which fats are in it. They always list saturated fats so you don't have to worry about that. There are ways at figuring it out. Can you list the ingredients in the tomato sauce?

~Nicole

Crap Silent, we posted at the same time asking for ingredients. haha

~Nicole

Great minds think alike .

Yup that's right, silent answered what you asked already, the others are polys and/or monos, so look into what else is in there.

That makes sense. What about whole vegetables (such as the cauliflower) that are on fitday with the same issues. They are not comprised of multiple ingredients so how do you decipher the difference?

No the general rule of thumb is to have a minimal intake of saturated fats. I think here in australia is compulsory to have it fully listed out.

Tell the difference with what? What is fitday not telling you? It tells you all three fats...

~Nicole

The cauliflower is a miniscule amount of fat so that may be why it is inaccurate but I have come across others. For the cauliflower, if you add up the listed fats they equal .145g as opposed to the .21g listed as the total. For the carbs, it only lists the 2.5g of fiber as opposed to the 5.2g total.

Cauliflower, Raw
Nutrition Facts

Amount Per 1 cup
Calories 25
Calories from Fat 1.89

% Daily Value *
Total Fat 0.21g 0%
Saturated Fat 0.032g 0%
Polyunsaturated Fat 0.099g
Monounsaturated Fat 0.014g
Cholesterol 0mg 0%
Sodium 30mg 1%
Potassium 303mg 9%
Total Carbohydrate 5.2g 2%
Dietary Fiber 2.5g 10%
Protein 1.98g 4%
Alcohol 0g