# Is this normal American food labelling/marketing? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [December 28, 2015, 1:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-normal-american-food-labelling-marketing/741525 "2015-12-28T01:15:23Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 18\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Leo\_Bloom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leo_bloom/32/10377_2.png) [@Leo\_Bloom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leo_Bloom)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2015, 1:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-normal-american-food-labelling-marketing/741525/41 "2015-12-29T01:56:19Z")
If you can hack through the French, their Wiki of mustard types is a treat: [Moutarde (condiment) — Wikipédia](https://fr.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moutarde_(condiment)) ---
**Author:** ![Melbourne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5e925/32.png) [@Melbourne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Melbourne)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2015, 3:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-normal-american-food-labelling-marketing/741525/42 "2015-12-29T03:44:32Z")
> [@Richard\_Pearse](#): > > For the brand that I have, a 5 gram serve would be 13 calories (agrees with the Aus label), how can that be rounded down to 0? Do they just round down to the nearest 100 calories? Can’t be the nearest 10. > > How do people who are “counting calories” do this when the calories aren’t accurately displayed? > > I see from **guizot** ’s link that it seems to be being addressed, though these rules weren’t reflected in the label on my mustard. > > Edit: Presumably because mustard isn’t expected to be consumed in one sitting. Does the AUS lable have a kJ value as well? I’m currious to compare it to the Calorie value. ---
**Author:** ![Richard\_Pearse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/richard_pearse/32/13144_2.png) [@Richard\_Pearse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Richard_Pearse)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2015, 3:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-normal-american-food-labelling-marketing/741525/43 "2015-12-29T03:53:20Z")
> [@Melbourne](#): > > Does the AUS lable have a kJ value as well? I’m currious to compare it to the Calorie value. Yes. 13 Cal (56 kJ). ---
**Author:** ![Richard\_Pearse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/richard_pearse/32/13144_2.png) [@Richard\_Pearse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Richard_Pearse)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2015, 3:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-normal-american-food-labelling-marketing/741525/44 "2015-12-29T03:56:10Z")
It is French’s Classic Yellow, purchased from Costco. ---
**Author:** ![Richox](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8797f3/32.png) [@Richox](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Richox)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2015, 4:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-normal-american-food-labelling-marketing/741525/45 "2015-12-29T04:26:23Z")
I would estimate the problem here is a translation error from kJ (the Aus/otherworldly standard for food energy) and kCal or Cal, the US standard. The ratio is approximately 4:1 for the conversion, which relates well to 300 kJ = ~70 kCal. This approximates with all general information on mustard for 100g. Including wikipedia: > **[Mustard (condiment)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mustard_(condiment))** > > Mustard is a condiment made from the seeds of a mustard plant (white/yellow mustard, Sinapis alba; brown mustard, Brassica juncea; or black mustard, Brassica nigra). > The whole, ground, cracked, or bruised mustard seeds are mixed with water, vinegar, lemon juice, wine, or other liquids, salt, and often other flavorings and spices, to create a paste or sauce ranging in color from bright yellow to dark brown. The seed itself has a strong, pungent, and somewhat bitter taste. The taste of mustard c... > [@](#): > > Mustard, yellow > Nutritional value per 100 g (3.5 oz) > Energy 276 kJ (66 kcal) ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2015, 5:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-normal-american-food-labelling-marketing/741525/46 "2015-12-29T05:25:27Z")
> [@Richard\_Pearse](#): > > It is French’s Classic Yellow, purchased from Costco. That’s really strange. I hold in my hand a bottle of French’s Classic Yellow, presumably exactly the same thing, and it clearly says 0 (zero) calories per 5 ml (5 g). Maille Dijon Orginale, Maille a l’Ancienne, and Grey Poupon all say 10 calories per 5 ml. I doubt they’re all exactly the same – l’Ancienne is a completely different style of mustard – so there’s major rounding going on, probably rounding down. Regarding kcal, I believe that in North America, at least, “calorie” in the context of food always means kcal. ---
**Author:** ![Richox](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8797f3/32.png) [@Richox](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Richox)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2015, 6:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-normal-american-food-labelling-marketing/741525/47 "2015-12-29T06:48:24Z")
> [@wolfpup](#): > > Regarding kcal, I believe that in North America, at least, “calorie” in the context of food always means kcal. Perhaps I did not write so clearly. there was no need for me to to have introduced kCal at all, I was not trying to compare kCal and Calories, just \*\*kJ \*\*and **Calories**. The numbers seem quite coincidental - my thought would be perhaps the importers have incorrectly labelled the sticker as Calories instead of kJ. ---
**Author:** ![Richard\_Pearse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/richard_pearse/32/13144_2.png) [@Richard\_Pearse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Richard_Pearse)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2015, 8:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-normal-american-food-labelling-marketing/741525/48 "2015-12-29T08:23:56Z")
> [@Richox](#): > > Perhaps I did not write so clearly. there was no need for me to to have introduced kCal at all, I was not trying to compare kCal and Calories, just \*\*kJ \*\*and **Calories**. The numbers seem quite coincidental - my thought would be perhaps the importers have incorrectly labelled the sticker as Calories instead of kJ. They have a kJ value as well. But maybe they have labelled kJ as Cal then converted the incorrect Cals back to kJ. ---
**Author:** ![Hari\_Seldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hari_seldon/32/5173_2.png) [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2015, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-normal-american-food-labelling-marketing/741525/49 "2015-12-29T17:37:38Z")
> [@Mangetout](#): > > I agree that the term is very over-used and often moronic, however, in the context of mustard, it’s perhaps not entirely inappropriate. It’s not inconcievable for spreadable condiments to contain wheat flour as a thickener or stabiliser. That’s correct. My aunt, who has full-blown celiac disease, once got deathly sick after eating a crab salad prepared by a friend using “lite” mayonnaise that turned out to have been thickened with some kind of gluten containing starch. I have noticed that Hellman’s Lite Mayonnaise claims to be gluten free, at least now. I wonder how reliable that is. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2015, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-normal-american-food-labelling-marketing/741525/50 "2015-12-29T19:29:51Z")
> [@Richox](#): > > I would estimate the problem here is a translation error from kJ (the Aus/otherworldly standard for food energy) and kCal or Cal, the US standard. The ratio is approximately 4:1 for the conversion, which relates well to 300 kJ = ~70 kCal. This approximates with all general information on mustard for 100g. Including wikipedia: > > [Mustard (condiment) - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mustard_(condiment)) Yeah, on the [Tesco website](http://www.tesco.com/groceries/product/details/?id=261894837), for French’s I see 75 calories per 100g, which would translate to 3.75 calories per 5g serving. Should round-up to 5, but puts us kind of in the ballpark of the cut-off point. ETA: Actually, if I’m [reading this correctly](http://www.fda.gov/Food/GuidanceRegulation/GuidanceDocumentsRegulatoryInformation/LabelingNutrition/ucm064932.htm), then anything under 5 calories can be labeled as 0 in the US, no rounding needed. 5-50 calories gets rounded off to the nearest 5, then anything higher to the nearest 10. [QUOTE=FDA rounding rules for calories] \< 5 cal - express as 0 ≤50 cal - express to nearest 5 cal increment \> 50 cal - express to nearest 10 cal increment [/quote] ---
**Author:** ![Melbourne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5e925/32.png) [@Melbourne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Melbourne)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2015, 11:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-normal-american-food-labelling-marketing/741525/51 "2015-12-29T23:07:07Z")
> [@wolfpup](#): > > That’s really strange. I hold in my hand a bottle of French’s Classic Yellow, presumably exactly the same thing, and it clearly says 0 (zero) calories per 5 ml (5 g). Maille Dijon Orginale, Maille a l’Ancienne, and Grey Poupon all say 10 calories per 5 ml. I doubt they’re all exactly the same – l’Ancienne is a completely different style of mustard – so there’s major rounding going on, probably rounding down. I’m thinking that the Aus labeling process, they either used a generic “mustard” number, or simply stuck the wrong label on the bottle. ---
**Author:** ![Richard\_Pearse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/richard_pearse/32/13144_2.png) [@Richard\_Pearse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Richard_Pearse)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2015, 1:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-normal-american-food-labelling-marketing/741525/52 "2015-12-30T01:19:06Z")
> [@Melbourne](#): > > I’m thinking that the Aus labeling process, they either used a generic “mustard” number, or simply stuck the wrong label on the bottle. It has the product name listed on the label though. There’s something else going on I think. ---
**Author:** ![Melbourne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5e925/32.png) [@Melbourne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Melbourne)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2015, 12:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-normal-american-food-labelling-marketing/741525/53 "2015-12-31T00:51:46Z")
> [@Richard\_Pearse](#): > > It has the product name listed on the label though. There’s something else going on I think. Yes: they got it wrong. The interesting thing is that the bottle says zero, which we’ve been told is “normal American food labelling” for under 5C per serving. I didn’t know that. But I’m not interested in the kJ number myself. I only look at the sugers and spices, . Note that the spices are often better listed on the American ingerdient – I hate buying foods which list “flavours” as an ingredient, because there are some flavours which I actually don’t like. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2015, 12:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-normal-american-food-labelling-marketing/741525/54 "2015-12-31T00:55:40Z")
There are some “zero calorie” condiments and salad dressings, and even ice cream toppings. :eek: I looked at the ingredients list, because I wondered just how healthy something like that could be, and the answer is “not very”. They had a list of unpronounceable ingredients that rivaled Olestra (remember that? I heard it’s now used as an industrial lubricant) and I can’t imagine they would taste very good either. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2015, 1:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-normal-american-food-labelling-marketing/741525/55 "2015-12-31T01:45:21Z")
> [@nearwildheaven](#): > > They had a list of unpronounceable ingredients that rivaled Olestra (remember that? I heard it’s now used as an industrial lubricant) and I can’t imagine they would taste very good either. They reformulated Olestra and it is now used exactly as intended, to make low fat versions of stuff like potato chips. It causes no health problems at all. The only issue is that the products don’t sell well because people like you never read the follow-up articles after the headlines are gone. And how is Olestra or its trade name Olean unpronounceable? ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2015, 5:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-normal-american-food-labelling-marketing/741525/56 "2015-12-31T05:50:49Z")
> [@Exapno\_Mapcase](#): > > They reformulated Olestra and it is now used exactly as intended, to make low fat versions of stuff like potato chips. It causes no health problems at all. The only issue is that the products don’t sell well because people like you never read the follow-up articles after the headlines are gone. That’s silly. They just shouldn’t call it Olestra, so that people won’t think it’s the same stuff from before. Low-fat stuff still sells. ---
**Author:** ![Ranger\_Jeff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ranger_jeff/32/2065_2.png) [@Ranger\_Jeff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranger_Jeff)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2015, 7:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-normal-american-food-labelling-marketing/741525/57 "2015-12-31T07:26:03Z")
Might the fact that for foodstuffs in the US, they use ounces (both volume and weight) while in Aussyland, they use liters and grams account for some of the discrepancies? ---
**Author:** ![Richard\_Pearse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/richard_pearse/32/13144_2.png) [@Richard\_Pearse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Richard_Pearse)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2015, 7:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-normal-american-food-labelling-marketing/741525/58 "2015-12-31T07:34:43Z")
> [@Ranger\_Jeff](#): > > Might the fact that for foodstuffs in the US, they use ounces (both volume and weight) while in Aussyland, they use liters and grams account for some of the discrepancies? I don’t think so, the product’s original label was in grams. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-normal-american-food-labelling-marketing/741525.md?page=2)