New research by The George Institute for Global Health and the National Heart Foundation of Australia has found food manufacturers are displaying large variations in the serving size listed on packaged foods and beverages.
Displaying a serving size is a mandatory requirement of nutrition labels in Australia, however determining the exact amount listed as the ‘declared serving size’ is up to each manufacturer.
Researchers analysed data for over 4400 ‘discretionary’ food and beverage products, such as processed meat, confectionery, sweet biscuits, cakes and muffins, crisps and snacks sold across four major Australian supermarkets (Coles, Woolworths, ALDI and IGA) and found huge variations in what constitutes a single serving size.
“We found huge differences in what makes up a serve and these inconsistencies could make it very difficult for Australians to understand how much they should be eating at one sitting,” senior author Dr Jason Wu, of The George Institute for Global Health said.
The study also found around half of the discretionary foods sold in all major supermarkets exceed the Australian Dietary Guidelines serve size of 600kj.
The report published in the British Journal of Nutrition found that a third (35%) of discretionary foods packaged with intention to be eaten at one sitting, displayed serving sizes smaller than the total package size, breaching Government recommendations.
Dr Wu said: “It’s unrealistic to expect that people will read the serve size and only eat one twelfth of what’s in the pack. People will generally eat a packet of crisps or a small chocolate bar in one sitting. For these type of products we need to ensure the displayed nutrition information per serve is based on the total package, otherwise people will end up eating much more than they intend.”
The Heart Foundation says with discretionary food products making up 35 per cent of the Australian diet, there is an urgent need to address declared serving sizes.
Adj Prof Kelly said: “These concerns are on the agenda of the Australian Government’s Healthy Food Partnership and its newly established Portion Size Working Group. It's important that the Partnership is well resourced as it moves forward to ensure important issues like portion size are comprehensively addressed.”
Key findings
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76.4 per cent of cakes and muffins, 74.5 per cent of pastries, 74.2 per cent of desserts, 60 per cent of protein and diet bars, 54.3 per cent of frozen potato products, 51.7 per cent of processed meats, 50.5 per cent of ice cream and edible ice, and 36.3 per cent of crisps and snacks had serve sizes that exceeded 600kj.
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A 2 litre bottle of a leading brand of soft drink had a declared serving size of 250ml. But a 375ml can of the same product listed a single serving size of 375ml, a 50 per cent difference.
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More than two thirds of sugar-based confectionery intended to be eaten at one sitting had a serving size smaller than their package size.
