Your favorite snack may contain more calories than you think.
This month, a lawsuit was filed in California against Kroger for false advertising after prosecutors discovered that its “Carbmaster” bread listed 30 calories per slice on the front of the package but 50 calories per slice on the back.
It’s just the latest in more than a hundred lawsuits filed each year over mislabeling, with previous cases including a 300-calorie Chipotle burrito that was found to contain nearly 800 calories, and a 50-calorie hamburger bun that actually contained 100 calories .
Dr. Susan Roberts, who researches food labels at Dartmouth University in New Hampshire, said she was not surprised by the cases of mislabeling.
‘It is almost impossible to actually check all this [labels],’ she said. ‘We are largely dependent on the honesty of the food companies.’
The image above shows the front of Kroger’s Carbmaster bread and then the back, with both giving different numbers of calories per slice
Others facing lawsuits over calorie counts include Chipotle, which previously advertised that its Chorizo burrito contained 300 calories. The company said this was incorrect as the 300 only covered the chorizo in the burrito – even though it contained almost 800 calories in total
The expert told the Los Angeles Times that the problem is largely caused by the FDA allowing food companies to choose from different methods of calculating calories, with some being more reliable than others.
A calorie is a unit of energy that the body needs every day to perform vital functions such as breathing, blood circulation and physical activity.
The average man is recommended to consume about 2,600 calories per day, while the average woman is told to consume about 2,000 calories.
Ventura County District Attorney Erik Nasarenko, who filed the case against Kroger, said, “Consumers rely on nutritional information to make important decisions about their personal health and well-being. For some consumers, these decisions are based on medical necessity.
“False calorie advertising can mislead or even endanger consumers and provides an unfair advantage over competitors who advertise in accordance with FDA guidelines.”
Others facing proposed actions due to lawsuits included Utah-based Crumbl Cookies. One of their cookies equaled four servings, or 760 calories
The lawsuit alleges that between November 2018 and June 2022, Kroger falsely advertised the calorie content of its “Carbmaster” bread.
During that time, the front of the package prominently displayed a calorie count per slice that was 20 calories less than the number advertised on the back.
In another case, Kroger hamburger buns were labeled on the front with 50 calories per serving, even though the back stated that each contained 100 calories.
To calculate calorie content, the FDA recommends manufacturers use the Atwater system.
This assigns specific values to macronutrients – carbohydrates, proteins, fats and alcohol – to calculate calorie content.
These are four calories per gram of carbohydrates, four calories per gram of protein, nine calories per gram of fat and seven calories per gram of alcohol.
Other labeling class action lawsuits have been proposed against manufacturers, including Crumbl Cookie, a gourmet cookie maker in Utah.
The motion stated that Crumbl misled customers by advertising that one serving of cookies was equal to 190 calories, when in fact each cookie sold by the company contained four servings or equal to 760 calories.
More than 100 lawsuits were filed in 2020 alleging false labeling – a category that includes allegations of under- or over-reporting calorie counts, as well as misrepresenting portion sizes or claiming that food has been prepared in a certain way, such as by smoking to be.
In a previous class action lawsuit filed against Chipotle in 2016, customers complained about the 300-calorie Chorizo burrito after saying it made them feel full afterward.
They then calculated that the burrito probably contained a total of 1,050 calories, more than three times the advertised figure.
Chipotle later apologized for the error, saying the 300 calorie unit was only intended to refer to the Chorizo.