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| Serving Sizes in the Food Guide Pyramid and on the Nutrition Facts Label: What’s Different and Why? |
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A Publication of the USDA Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion• December 2000 How
many bread products should I eat every day? Consumers are interested in knowing how much and what type of foods to eat for continued or improved health. Two federal nutrition education tools use standard serving sizes: the Food Guide Pyramid and the Nutrition Facts label. The Pyramid was released by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) in 1992. The Nutrition Facts label, which is under the regulation of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), has been required on virtually all food labels since August 1994. While both tools contain serving sizes that are standard—thus enabling nutritional and caloric comparisons of similar foods—serving sizes for a particular food are not necessarily the same between the Pyramid and the Nutrition Facts label. Attempts to directly compare Pyramid and label servings may, therefore, generate confusion. For many
foods, the serving sizes in the Pyramid and on the label are the same—such
as 1 cup of milk and 1/2 cup of cut-up fruits or vegetables–but there
are notable differences. For example, the Pyramid serving size for pasta
is 1/2 cup cooked (about 1 ounce uncooked), while on the label it is about
1 cup cooked (2 ounces uncooked). To understand why serving sizes are
sometimes different for the Pyramid and the Nutrition Facts label, it
is important to understand the purpose of each and to distinguish how
these serving sizes were derived for individual foods. These are explained
and a way to help consumers use both more effectively is proposed in this
Insight. FOOD
GUIDE PYRAMID The Food Guide Pyramid translates recommendations of the Dietary Guidelines for Americans(1) and nutrient standards like the Recommended Dietary Allownaces into food group-based advice for a healthful diet. The Pyramid graphically illustrates a research-based food guidance system built on the foods typically eaten by Americans, the nutrients in these foods, and recommen-dations on how to make the best food choices to promote good health.(2) The Pyramid suggests the type and amount of foods to eat each day without prescribing rigid guidance, and can be used as a general guide in choosing individualized healthful diets from a variety of common foods. Since its release, the Pyramid has been widely used by nutrition educators, teachers, the media, and the food industry, in nutrition curricula, articles, and food packaging and advertising.(3) Determination of Serving Sizes in the Pyramid To establish
serving sizes for the food groups in the Pyramid, four factors were considered:
typical portion sizes (from food consumption surveys), ease
of use, nutrient content, and tradition (of use in previous
food guides). For some food groups, certain factors were given more emphasis
than others. For example,
the serving size for cooked or raw cut-up fruits and vegetables was set
at • cup based on typical portion sizes and for easy recognition
and use. Although fruits and vegetables vary in nutrient content, the
number of different serving size units was kept to a minimum to make the
Pyramid easier to use. For the Milk group, on the other hand, nutrient
content was a more important consideration in determining serving
sizes. Serving sizes were set to be equivalent in calcium content to a
typical portion size for milk, which is 1 cup. In the Meat and
Beans group, was also an important consideration. The specified amount
of eggs, nuts, and dry beans provide about the same protein and mineral
content as 1ounce of meat. In the Grains group, the traditional
serving size of 1 slice of bread was maintained as the serving size. For
other grain products nutrient content was considered, as serving
sizes were set to be approximately equivalent in calories to one slice
of bread. NUTRITION
FACTS LABEL The Nutrition
Facts label lists the serving size of the food and the number of servings
per container. It also identifies and quantifies key nutrients in a serving
as a percentage of Daily Values (%DV) for a 2,000-calorie diet. Before
FDA regulation, the choice of serving sizes on food labels was up to the
discretion of individual food manufacturers. Serving sizes are now more
uniform. The Nutrition Facts label, therefore, enables nutritional comparisons
of similar foods. The label is now ubiquitous on food packages and widely
recognized by consumers.(4)
Nutrition Facts label serving sizes are based on–but not necessarily equal to—the amount of food customarily eaten at one time (called the “reference amount”) as reported from nationwide food consumption surveys. As explained next, label serving sizes and reference amounts are related but not necessarily the same. Serving sizes are based on reference amounts in one of three ways.(5) For bulk products, such as cereals and flour, the Nutrition Facts labels use common household terms such as cup, tablespoon, teaspoon, and fluid ounce at a quantity that is closest to the reference amount for that item. For products that are usually divided for consumption, such as cake or pizza, the serving size is a fractional amount of the product (e.g., “1/4 pizza”). Products that come in defined, discrete units—such as eggs and sliced products—are normally listed as the number of whole units that most closely approximates the reference amount. For example, cookies have a reference amount of 30g. Thus, the serving size on a package of cookies weighing about 30g each would be “1 cookie.” For foods like cookies that come in discrete units, serving sizes for a single item may vary from 50 to 200 percent of the reference amount. Another example is bread—with a reference amount of 50g. The Nutrition Facts label serving size for bread which weighs 25g per slice could either read “1 slice (25g)” or “2 slices (50g).” Additionally, it is possible for a single slice of two different types of bread, with very dissimilar weights, to be listed as a serving on a food label. Because
serving sizes may vary from the reference amount, and because the reference
amount for different foods may vary widely in caloric content, there is
considerable variation in the calories in a label serving for different
products from the Grain group (figure 1). The caloric variation between
a single Pyramid serving of these foods is less, which reflects the effort
to make Pyramid serving sizes nutritionally similar. For example, the
number of calories in a Pyramid serving of the foods shown in Figure 1
ranges from
about 60 to 110, while the number of calories in a label serving ranges
from about 55 to 250. WHY THE DIFFERENCES? Serving
sizes in the Pyramid and on the Nutrition Facts label are sometimes different
because the two serve different purposes. The Pyramid is designed to help
people meet daily nutrient recommendations. Serving sizes in combination
with the recommended number of daily servings are an educational component
of the Pyramid to help consumers select appropriate amounts to eat daily.
Therefore, the Pyramid provides relatively few, easy-to-remember serving
sizes for each of the food groups that, in most cases, are nutritionally
comparable. Nutrition
Facts label serving sizes, on the other hand, provide detailed nutritional
information on a food for easy comparison with similar foods. The label
is deliberately specific for similar food products to allow consumers
to determine differences in important nutrients among these foods and
to select among similar foods based on nutritive values of comparable
quantities. If the purposes of the Pyramid and the Nutrition Facts label are understood, the two can be used together to compliment each other and to help consumers make food choices for a healthful diet from a wide variety of foods. The usefulness of both tools would be enhanced and confusion lessened if food product labels included a statement of the number of Pyramid servings contained in one label serving. Contributors:
David Herring, M.S., Patricia Britten, Ph.D., Carole References 1. USDA
and DHHS, 2000. Nutrition and Your Health: Dietary Guidelines for Americans.
Fifth Edition. Home and Garden Bulletin No. 23. For more information on this topic see Food Portions and Servings: How Do They Differ? CNPP Insight #11, 1999
The mission of the
Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion is to improve the health of
Americans by developing and promoting dietary guidance that links scientific
research to the nutrition needs of consumers. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) prohibits discrimination in all its programs and activities on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, religion, age, disability, political beliefs, sexual orientation, or marital or family status. USDA is an equal opportunity provider and employer.
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Determination
of Serving Sizes on the Nutrition Facts label
Nutrition
Insights is issued
by the Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion, an organization of
the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Nutrition Insights may be
accessed at the CNPP Web Site at 