# Ridiculous serving sizes **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 20, 2018, 12:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ridiculous-serving-sizes/818267 "2018-07-20T12:41:11Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2018, 2:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ridiculous-serving-sizes/818267/61 "2018-07-21T14:37:02Z")
Most food items now have the calories for the whole package, and even include “as prepared according to directions.” I still don’t care. I eat the whole pint of ice cream or the whole bag of cookies. ---
**Author:** ![Tapiotar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3be4f8/32.png) [@Tapiotar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tapiotar)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2018, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ridiculous-serving-sizes/818267/62 "2018-07-21T16:13:37Z")
> [@I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](#): > > Yes. Very much so. Why isn’t this the default way of doing it? For one thing, “serving size” is an arbitrary number that’s different for everyone. For two, it uses only one realm of measurement (mass [weight]) unlike “serving size” which could be weight, volume, or worst of all, both (I speak of the dreaded and ridiculous unit, the ounce). > > Can we have this is the USA please? I don’t like that at all. Products have different densities and weights. For one item, 100 gr. could be a serving. For another, it could be nothing. Often, there is nothing on the package to indicate if 100 gr is the whole package or just a small portion of it, and I don’t have a scale handy when I’m in the grocery store. It’s annoying. ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2018, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ridiculous-serving-sizes/818267/63 "2018-07-21T17:06:11Z")
> [@Tapiotar](#): > > I don’t like that at all. Products have different densities and weights. For one item, 100 gr. could be a serving. For another, it could be nothing. Often, there is nothing on the package to indicate if 100 gr is the whole package or just a small portion of it, and I don’t have a scale handy when I’m in the grocery store. It’s annoying. In the last decade, I’ve never encountered a package label that doesn’t tell you how many servings are in the package. It’s standard. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2018, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ridiculous-serving-sizes/818267/64 "2018-07-21T17:14:18Z")
> [@needscoffee](#): > > In the last decade, I’ve never encountered a package label that doesn’t tell you how many servings are in the package. It’s standard. Yes, but if 100 g were the across-the-board serving size, you’d see things like “Servings per package: 0.7933.” ---
**Author:** ![Orwell](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/dfb087/32.png) [@Orwell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Orwell)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2018, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ridiculous-serving-sizes/818267/65 "2018-07-21T17:19:28Z")
> [@Tapiotar](#): > > I don’t like that at all. Products have different densities 7and weights. For one item, 100 gr. could be a serving. For another, it could be nothing. Often, there is nothing on the package to indicate if 100 gr is the whole package or just a small portion of it, and I don’t have a scale handy when I’m in the grocery store. It’s annoying. I agree. Nutrition per 100 grams would be meaningless in many cases. ---
**Author:** ![Doug\_K](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b5ac83/32.png) [@Doug\_K](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doug_K)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2018, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ridiculous-serving-sizes/818267/66 "2018-07-21T19:47:35Z")
> [@needscoffee](#): > > In the last decade, I’ve never encountered a package label that doesn’t tell you how many servings are in the package. It’s standard. That doesn’t help much when amounts are rounded. I try to avoid sugar in snacks as much as possible (diabetes), but if the packages says \<1 gram of sugar per serving and there are 10 servings there’s could be anywhere from 0 to 9.999 grams in the package. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Librarian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_librarian/32/402_2.png) [@The\_Librarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Librarian)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2018, 10:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ridiculous-serving-sizes/818267/67 "2018-07-21T22:40:18Z")
> [@Orwell](#): > > I agree. Nutrition per 100 grams would be meaningless in many cases. But it does allow you to compare two different brands of cereal, which is now impossible due to arbitrary “servings”. I would think that is the point of labeling. Pick a unit (100g / 100ml is standard in the EU) and force manufacturers to put information in this format on the box. Do not allow manufacturers to pick their own units: they will use 1ml cups and 3g servings. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2018, 4:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ridiculous-serving-sizes/818267/68 "2018-07-22T04:21:26Z")
> [@Finagle](#): > > Walk 2200 miles over some of the most rugged terrain on the East Coast and you can eat pretty much all the calories you want. My wife hiked a chunk of the AT after she got out of college, and while 3 seems like a lot, 2 is about right. Plus ice cream does not pack well. ---
**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:** [July 22, 2018, 5:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ridiculous-serving-sizes/818267/69 "2018-07-22T05:15:36Z")
The markings on the coffee pot that came with our coffee maker says it’ll make 12 cups. I did some research. It’s a 60 oz pot. So I need some 5 oz cups. ---
**Author:** ![Orwell](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/dfb087/32.png) [@Orwell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Orwell)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2018, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ridiculous-serving-sizes/818267/70 "2018-07-22T15:22:09Z")
> [@The\_Librarian](#): > > But it does allow you to compare two different brands of cereal, which is now impossible due to arbitrary “servings”. > > I would think that is the point of labeling. > > Pick a unit (100g / 100ml is standard in the EU) and force manufacturers to put information in this format on the box. > > Do not allow manufacturers to pick their own units: they will use 1ml cups and 3g servings. Even for cereal, a “standard” weight doesn’t work. A serving of a dense cereal like Grape Nuts (1/2 cup weighs 58 grams) has a much different weight than an airy one like puffed wheat (1 1/4 cup weighs 16 grams). What would caleries/sugar/fibre per 100 g tell you? ---
**Author:** ![Drunky\_Smurf](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drunky_smurf/32/449_2.png) [@Drunky\_Smurf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drunky_Smurf)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2018, 5:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ridiculous-serving-sizes/818267/71 "2018-07-23T05:55:24Z")
> [@Asuka](#): > > Unlike every single other chocolate bar which measures serving size as the whole package (king size or not), Twix says a serving size is a single bar even in the standard two bar package. This is ridiculous. What am I supposed to do with the other bar? Vacuum seal it for next week? I don’t own that kind of technology and I certainly don’t care enough. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2018, 11:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ridiculous-serving-sizes/818267/72 "2018-07-23T11:46:56Z")
> [@Drunky\_Smurf](#): > > This is ridiculous. What am I supposed to do with the other bar? Vacuum seal it for next week? I don’t own that kind of technology and I certainly don’t care enough. Ziplock bag. ---
**Author:** ![DesertDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desertdog/32/11503_2.png) [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2018, 2:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ridiculous-serving-sizes/818267/73 "2018-07-23T14:54:10Z")
> [@Snowboarder\_Bo](#): > > Most food manufacturers seem to have grabbed onto “100 calories” as being a serving, no matter what the volume of food is that it takes to equal 100 calories. They are re-defining what “a serving” means thru deceptive marketing; we’ll be lucky if the term isn’t near-meaningless in a decade. Wasn’t there a diet book a while back that made a big deal out of 100-calorie increments? I remember when all those 100-cal portion snacks, cookies, pretzels, etc., hit the market at once. > [@Marvin\_the\_Martian](#): > > [“I think a serving size of ice cream is when the spoon hits the bottom of the carton.”](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LBko_3wT44Q) Some years ago Eve\* related how her mom watched her peel the lid off a pint of Ben & Jerrys and toss it. Asked why she did that, Eve replied, “Because, mother, its job is done.” \*God, I miss her. ---
**Author:** ![Irishman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/b487fb/32.png) [@Irishman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Irishman)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2018, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ridiculous-serving-sizes/818267/74 "2018-07-23T16:35:19Z")
> [@actualliberalnotoneofthose](#): > > Or some people are adults or children with impulse control who can store a 4+ serving carton of something in the freezer and don’t need to eat the whole thing while crying or playing video games or watching tv. 1/2 cup of ice cream isn’t even a full scoop. Here is a link to the US FDA Code of Federal Regulations regarding serving sizes. [https://www.accessdata.fda.gov/scripts/cdrh/cfdocs/cfcfr/CFRSearch.cfm?fr=101.12](https://www.accessdata.fda.gov/scripts/cdrh/cfdocs/cfcfr/CFRSearch.cfm?fr=101.12) It talks about the methodology for why serving sizes are listed as they are. It has some rules regarding comparing aerated products (puffed/whipped) versus their regular counterparts, and for comparing products that come in large sizes but portions are typically partial amounts (i.e. a whole pie). ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2018, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ridiculous-serving-sizes/818267/75 "2018-07-23T17:23:17Z")
> [@Tapiotar](#): > > I don’t like that at all. Products have different densities and weights. For one item, 100 gr. could be a serving. For another, it could be nothing. Often, there is nothing on the package to indicate if 100 gr is the whole package or just a small portion of it, and I don’t have a scale handy when I’m in the grocery store. It’s annoying. Underline mine. Really? Where do you get packaging which gives the values per 100g and not the weight of the whole pack? 😕 ---
**Author:** ![salinqmind](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3ec8ea/32.png) [@salinqmind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/salinqmind)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2018, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ridiculous-serving-sizes/818267/76 "2018-07-23T18:08:54Z")
> [@Plumpudding](#): > > Back in high school I tried putting on weight. I’d eat 3 liters of ice cream in one sitting every day. It didn’t work, so I stopped. I think I got that weight of yours and am currently sitting on it. I wish I could send it to you. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2018, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ridiculous-serving-sizes/818267/77 "2018-07-23T18:27:18Z")
At one time, by one measurement, they called olives a low fat food, since a serving was one, and one olive had less than a gram of fat.:rolleyes::dubious: ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2018, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ridiculous-serving-sizes/818267/78 "2018-07-23T21:21:47Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > At one time, by one measurement, they called olives a low fat food, since a serving was one, and one olive had less than a gram of fat.:rolleyes::dubious: But was this [olive](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=up-RvuljLmE) “Giant”, “Jumbo”, “Extra Jumbo”, “Super Jumbo”, “Colossal”, or “Super Colossal”? ---
**Author:** ![JustinC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justinc/32/8083_2.png) [@JustinC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JustinC)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2018, 10:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ridiculous-serving-sizes/818267/79 "2018-07-23T22:55:38Z")
> [@Drunky\_Smurf](#): > > This is ridiculous. What am I supposed to do with the other bar? Vacuum seal it for next week? I don’t own that kind of technology and I certainly don’t care enough. Don’t buy it? I’m not being facetious, out of the mass produced, low quality, nothing nutrition bars, Twixs are my favourite. But after a few months occasionally letting a very dark, high quality, pure chocolate, small square (of decent chocolate like Lindt) melt on my tongue once in a few days a bar of Twix does taste pretty rough. I’m always surprised when I have one and it tastes as chemically and inferior as a McDonald’s burger or cheap coffee, but there you are. Maybe re-tune your taste buds? Just a suggestion. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2018, 1:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ridiculous-serving-sizes/818267/80 "2018-07-24T01:11:37Z")
What I find amusing is Total. Just like the serving size for Chocolate-Frosted Sugar Bombs is only half of a real serving, so they can pretend that it’s not so high in sugar, the size for Total is twice a real serving, so they can say that it has 100% of your vitamins and minerals. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ridiculous-serving-sizes/818267.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ridiculous-serving-sizes/818267.md?page=5)