Food Labels - They're All a Bunch of Liars

LIARS!

Just when you thought you could trust your food, you can't.

Remember when food was actually food? Remember when it wasn't packed with excess dyes, sugars and calories? Hmmm, probably not. And guess what? Food is even sneakier then we originally thought. Well, packaged food is anyway. That's right America, nutrition labels are lying to us. They're lying to us and they're getting away with it.

Are you mad? You should be.

Recently, reporters from New York City's WCBS-TV sent snacks such as, muffins, scones and sandwiches to a calorie lab for testing. Not surprisingly, the real amount of calories didn't match the label.

For example, Dunkin' Donuts' turkey, cheddar, and bacon sandwich masqueraded around as 360 calories but tested at 460. A Starbucks blueberry muffin, labeled 420 calories, came back as 580. And its peachy apple tart, disguised as a 120 calorie delight, actually weighed in at 280.

So why the calorie discrepancy?

Lots of spokespeople came back swinging, and used their mouths to say things like "recipe changes" and "handmade" (that’s a nice way of saying human error) were the problem.

Still, the New York Department of Health plans to issue fines in the event of nutrition fact fraud. And, federal lawmakers are looking into updating the Labeling Education and Nutrition Act to institute a national standard for nutrition labels.