Why is the nutrition information for these two items so different?

Why is the nutrition information for these two items so different? - Fresh fruits scattered on table near opened textbook

(In the UK)

Nutrition Information on Custard

I have a packet of custard, which has the following ingredients: Maize starch, salt, Flavouring and Colour. The salt content on the nutrition information is 0.17% so I assume that the custard is almost entirely Maize Starch.

Wikipedia tells me that Maize Starch is the same as (in the UK) Cornflour. I have some of that in the cuboard and its nutritional information looks like this:

enter image description here

My question is: why is the nutritional information so different? Where did the Sugars come from? Why is there more protein? What's going on?



Best Answer

You are comparing (100 g of custard made with some of this powder and some milk) to (100g of this powder) -- ignoring the salt, anyway.

The magic words are

As prepared with semi-skimmed milk

That's where the sugars and proteins come from, among other things.




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Why are nutrition labels not accurate?

Almost every packaged food today features calorie counts in its label. Most of these counts are inaccurate because they are based on a system of averages that ignores the complexity of digestion.

Why did the FDA change the Nutrition Facts label?

The Nutrition Facts label on packaged foods was updated in 2016 to reflect updated scientific information, including information about the link between diet and chronic diseases, such as obesity and heart disease. The updated label makes it easier for consumers to make better informed food choices.

How is nutritional information determined?

Scientists measure the amount of protein, fat, and water in food. They add these numbers together. Then they subtract that sum from the total weight of the food. The difference is the amount of carbohydrates in the food.

Can nutrition facts be wrong?

But nutritional labels can be up to 20% inaccurate, according to the FDA guidelines. That means, for example, that a serving of Greek yogurt labeled to contain 100 calories could actually weigh in at 80 to 120 calories.



How to Read Nutrition Facts | Food Labels Made Easy




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