2

In some packaged foods, the added weight of its components (like sugar, protein, carbohydrates) exceed the weight of the total item.

Example:- 1 pack of Chocos Cereal has net weight 30g. But its components like Total Carbs + Sugar + Protein exceed the net weight of 30g.

How can the component's weight exceed the net weight of the item?

3
  • 2
    I don't think this question is specific to vegetarianism. Perhaps you are reading the "per 100g" listing or the manufacturer has mislabelled the product?
    – Zanna
    Commented Mar 30, 2018 at 10:42
  • @Zanna no. you can see the link. or see a packaged food item yourself. Sorry but which site will this question be best for?
    – Ram Keswani
    Commented Mar 30, 2018 at 13:51
  • 4
    Oh I see the problem. Sugars are included in total carbs, so you don't add them together. 23g = 9g sugar + 14g other carbs. I don't know any SE site for this!
    – Zanna
    Commented Mar 30, 2018 at 14:10

1 Answer 1

6

As Zanna said, you can't just add all the values together, some items are a fraction of others.
In this case, "total carbohydrates" already includes the "sugar" and "dietary fibre" items, so the total is "fat" + "total carbohydrates" + "protein", which adds up to 27g out of 30g. That leaves 3 g for water, ash (inorganic salts, like table salt, basically) and minor components (like vitamins).

But keep in mind that all those values are rounded to the nearest whole number, which causes the energy stated to be different from that obtained from the ingredients weights.

Your Answer

By clicking “Post Your Answer”, you agree to our terms of service and acknowledge you have read our privacy policy.