Food Label 101

What is a serving size, and how is it different from portion size? Although they have been used interchangeably, they are not exactly the same.

Serving size is a standardized quantity of food. You may find this on the food labels or dietary guidelines to show a recommended amount of food.

Portion size is the quantity of food that you actually eat. It may be the same, less, or more than the serving size.

Serving size is also like a unit with a specific amount of food, and it is different across the food groups (carbohydrate, protein, fat, vegetable, fruits, etc).

For example, 1 serving of carbohydrates roughly contains 15g of carbohydrates. The amount of food that makes up 1 serving or 15g of carbohydrate will depend on the specific food described as follows:

1 serving of carbohydrate = 1/3 cup of rice or pasta, 1 slice of bread’

So if you are eating 2 cups of rice, it means you consume 6 servings of carbohydrates.

Food Label

The serving size on food labels is slightly different. It represents the amount of food that represents the calorie content and other nutrients listed on the labels.

Take below as an example:

The serving size for Oreo is 2 cookies. So the 140 calories are just for the two cookies and not for the entire package. Same as the amount of fat, sugar, and cholesterol shown on the labels. Let's do the math here if you are consuming the whole package.

1 package = 12 servings (~24 cookies) 12 servings x 140 kcal/serving = 1680kcal!

It’s also important to note that the serving size on the food packages is not a recommended serving to consume. It’s just a quantifiable unit for the nutrients information for customer’s references.