# What grams aren't enumerated on food labels? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 1, 2004, 12:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-grams-arent-enumerated-on-food-labels/242916 "2004-05-01T00:46:24Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![SmackFu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/53a042/32.png) [@SmackFu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SmackFu)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2004, 12:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-grams-arent-enumerated-on-food-labels/242916/1 "2004-05-01T00:46:24Z")
I have a box of Honey Nut Cheerios here, and this is the nutritional label: Serving size: 30g Total Fat: 1.5g Sodium: 210mg Potassium: 125mg Total Carbs: 24g Protein: 3g The total of the 2nd list of items is 28.8g, less than the size of a serving. Where are the missing 1.2g? Rounding? Something else that’s not counted? ---
**Author:** ![Squink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5e925/32.png) [@Squink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Squink)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2004, 1:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-grams-arent-enumerated-on-food-labels/242916/2 "2004-05-01T01:23:42Z")
Probably mostly water. [From this table,](http://www.verber.com/mark/outdoors/stash/packlite/water.htm) regular cheerios run at about 5% water. ---
**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:** [May 1, 2004, 1:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-grams-arent-enumerated-on-food-labels/242916/3 "2004-05-01T01:50:52Z")
There could be any number of places that aren’t listed. First off, though, manufacturers are allowed to round individual items to the nearest half-gram, and serving sizes can also be rounded, so that’s probably most of it. My guess, however, is that a certain amount of fiber is not accounted for. There has to be some fiber in that kind of cereal. ---
**Author:** ![TellMeI\_mNotCrazy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tellmei_mnotcrazy/32/3419_2.png) [@TellMeI\_mNotCrazy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TellMeI_mNotCrazy)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2004, 1:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-grams-arent-enumerated-on-food-labels/242916/4 "2004-05-01T01:57:04Z")
Also, many times the labels don’t itemize the stuff that comprises less than 2% of the total, so that might account for something as well. ---
**Author:** ![SmackFu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/53a042/32.png) [@SmackFu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SmackFu)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2004, 3:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-grams-arent-enumerated-on-food-labels/242916/5 "2004-05-01T03:29:29Z")
> [@Exapno Mapcase](#): > > My guess, however, is that a certain amount of fiber is not accounted for. There has to be some fiber in that kind of cereal. Very true… but that’s included in the total carbohydrates number, which I didn’t break down since it adds up: Total Carbs: 24g Dietary Fiber: 2g Sugars: 11g Other Carbs: 11g I do like the water answer. I can see why they wouldn’t need to list that. ---
**Author:** ![ultrafilter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/3d9bf3/32.png) [@ultrafilter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ultrafilter)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2004, 3:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-grams-arent-enumerated-on-food-labels/242916/6 "2004-05-01T03:46:58Z")
The discrepancy’s even bigger if you look at foods with more water, like meat. A 150g hamburger patty might contain 20g of fat and 30g of protein, with the rest of the weight coming from water.