Serving Size and Nutrition Labelling: Implications for Nutrition Information and Nutrition Claims on Packaged Foods

Nutrition in Foodservice Research Centre (NUPPRE—Núcleo de Pesquisa de Nutrição em Produção de Refeições), Federal University of Santa Catarina (UFSC—Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina), Florianopolis 88040-900, Brazil

Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.

^†

These authors contributed equally to the work.

Nutrients 2018, 10(7), 891; https://doi.org/10.3390/nu10070891

Received: 15 May 2018 / Revised: 8 June 2018 / Accepted: 25 June 2018 / Published: 12 July 2018

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Food Portion Size in Relation to Diet and Health)

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Abstract

The presentation of nutrition information on a serving size basis is a strategy that has been adopted by several countries to promote healthy eating. Variation in serving size, however, can alter the nutritional values reported on food labels and compromise the food choices made by the population. This narrative review aimed to discuss (1) current nutrition labelling legislation regarding serving size and (2) the implications of declared serving size for nutrition information available on packaged foods. Most countries with mandatory food labelling require that serving size be presented on food labels, but variation in this information is generally allowed. Studies have reported a lack of standardisation among serving sizes of similar products which may compromise the usability of nutrition information. Moreover, studies indicate that food companies may be varying serving sizes as a marketing strategy to stimulate sales by reporting lower values of certain nutrients or lower energy values on nutrition information labels. There is a need to define the best format for presenting serving size on food labels in order to provide clear and easily comprehensible nutrition information to the consumer. View Full-Text

Keywords: portion size; food labelling; nutrition information; processed foods; ultraprocessed foods

This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited

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MDPI and ACS Style

Kliemann, N.; Kraemer, M.V.S.; Scapin, T.; Rodrigues, V.M.; Fernandes, A.C.; Bernardo, G.L.; Uggioni, P.L.; Proença, R.P.C. Serving Size and Nutrition Labelling: Implications for Nutrition Information and Nutrition Claims on Packaged Foods. Nutrients 2018, 10, 891. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu10070891

AMA Style

Kliemann N, Kraemer MVS, Scapin T, Rodrigues VM, Fernandes AC, Bernardo GL, Uggioni PL, Proença RPC. Serving Size and Nutrition Labelling: Implications for Nutrition Information and Nutrition Claims on Packaged Foods. Nutrients. 2018; 10(7):891. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu10070891

Chicago/Turabian Style

Kliemann, Nathalie, Mariana V.S. Kraemer, Tailane Scapin, Vanessa M. Rodrigues, Ana C. Fernandes, Greyce L. Bernardo, Paula L. Uggioni, and Rossana P.C. Proença. 2018. "Serving Size and Nutrition Labelling: Implications for Nutrition Information and Nutrition Claims on Packaged Foods" Nutrients 10, no. 7: 891. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu10070891

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Serving Size and Nutrition Labelling: Implications for Nutrition Information and Nutrition Claims on Packaged Foods

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