Serving Size Updates on the New Nutrition Facts Label

 

Understanding Serving Sizes

Some of the requirements for serving sizes have changed on the new Nutrition Facts label. By law, serving sizes must be based on the amount of food people typically consume, rather than how much they should consume. Serving sizes have been updated to reflect the amount people typically eat and drink today. For example, based on the review of relevant information such as nationwide surveys of the amounts of foods Americans eat, the serving size for most soda products has changed from 8 fluid ounces to 12 fluid ounces.

 

The nutrition information listed on the Nutrition Facts label is usually based on one serving of the food; however, some containers may also have information displayed per package or per unit.

 

If the serving size for a food or beverage has increased, the calories and other nutrients listed on the Nutrition Facts label may also increase. Similarly, if the serving size for a food or beverage has decreased, the calories and other nutrients listed on the Nutrition Facts label may also decrease. As a result, it may look like the nutritional content for some food and beverage products has changed, when in fact, the ingredients of the product are the same but the serving size has changed.

 

 

Reference Guide: Serving Size Changes

Here is a handy reference for all serving sizes most likely to be affected by changes to the new Nutrition Facts label.

Foods for infants and young children 1 through 3 years of age:

 

Food Product	Typical Serving Size on Original Nutrition Facts Label	Typical Serving Size on New Nutrition Facts Label
Ready to serve dinners, strained type for infants and children 1 through 3 years of age	60g	110g
Ready to serve desserts, strained type for infants and children 1 through 3 years of age	60g	110g
Ready to serve fruits, strained type for infants and children 1 through 3 years of age	60g	110g
Ready to serve vegetables, strained type for infants and children 1 through 3 years of age	60g	110g
Ready to serve soups, strained type for infants and children 1 through 3 years of age	60g	110g

 

General food supply (aged 4 and older):

 

Food Category	Food Product	Typical Serving Size on Original Nutrition Facts Label	Typical Serving Size on New Nutrition Facts Label
Bakery products	Bagels	55g	110g
	Crepes	None	110g
	Crumpets	None	55g
	Dumpling wrappers	None	20g
	Eggroll wrappers	None	20g
	Muffins (excluding English muffins)	55g	110g
	Pastry Sheets (e.g., Phyllo, puff pastry sheets) (these products will be in the “Pie crust” product category)	None	The allowable declaration closest to an 8 square inch surface area
	Pie crust	1/6 of 8 inch crust or 1/8 of 9 inch crust	The allowable declaration closest to an 8 square inch surface area
	Pot sticker wrappers	None	20g
	Scones	None	55g
	Toaster Pastries	55g	110g
	Wonton wrappers	None	20g

 

Food Category	Food Product	Typical Serving Size on Original Nutrition Facts Label	Typical Serving Size on New Nutrition Facts Label
Beverages	Carbonated and non- carbonated beverages	240mL (8 fl oz.)	360mL (12 fl oz.)
	Coffee flavored and sweetened	240mL (8 fl oz.)	360mL (12 fl oz.)
	Tea flavored and sweetened	240mL (8 fl oz.)	360mL (12 fl oz.)
	Water	240mL (8 fl oz.)	360mL (12 fl oz.)
	Wine Coolers	240mL (8 fl oz.)	360mL (12 fl oz.)
Cereals and other grains	Breakfast cereal, ready- to-eat, weighing 20g or more, but less than 43g per cup, high fiber cereals containing 28g or more of fiber per 100g	30g	40g
	Breakfast cereal, ready- to-eat, weighting 43g or more; biscuit type	55g	60g
Dairy Products and Substitutes	Yogurt	225g	170g
Desserts	Frozen flavored and sweetened ice and pops, bulk	85g	2/3 cup – includes the volume for coatings and wafers
	Frozen flavored and sweetened ice and pops, novelties (e.g., bars, sandwiches, cones, cups)	85g	2/3 cup – includes the volume for coatings and wafers
	Frozen fruit juices, bulk	85g	2/3 cup – includes the volume for coatings and wafers
	Frozen fruit juices, novelties (e.g., bars, sandwiches, cones, cups)	85g	2/3 cup – includes the volume for coatings and wafers
	Frozen yogurt, bulk	1/2 cup	2/3 cup – includes the volume for coatings and wafers
	Ice cream, bulk	1/2 cup	2/3 cup – includes the volume for coatings and wafers
	Sherbet, bulk	1/2 cup	2/3 cup – includes the volume for coatings and wafers
Dessert Toppings and Fillings	Cake frostings and icings	35g	2 tbsp

Food Category	Food Product	Typical Serving Size on Original Nutrition Facts Label	Typical Serving Size on New Nutrition Facts Label
Egg and Egg Substitutes	Egg whites	None	Amount to make 1 large (50g) egg
	Sugared egg yolk	None	Amount to make 1 large (50g) egg
	Sugared eggs	None	Amount to make 1 large (50g) egg
Fish, Shellfish, Game Meats, and Meat or Poultry Substitutes	Canned fish, shell fish, or game meat	55g	85g
	Seafood substitutes	None	55g
Fruits and Fruit Juices	Fruits used primarily as ingredients, avocado	30g	50g
	Fruits used primarily as ingredients, others (cranberries, lemon, lime)	55g	50g
Miscellaneous	Cocoa powder, carob powder, unsweetened	None	1 tbsp.
	Drink mixes (without alcohol): all other types (e.g., flavored syrups and powdered drink mixes)	None	Amount to make 360mL drink (without ice)
	Milk, milk substitutes, and fruit juice concentrates (without alcohol) (e.g., drink mixers, frozen fruit juice concentrate, sweetened cocoa powder)	None	Amount to make 240mL drink (without ice)
	Seasoning oils and seasoning sauces (e.g., coconut concentrate, sesame oil, almond oil, chili oil coconut oil, walnut oil)	None	1 tbsp.
	Seasoning pastes (e.g. garlic paste, ginger paste, curry paste, chili paste, miso paste), fresh or frozen	None	1 tsp.

Food Category	Food Product	Typical Serving Size on Original Nutrition Facts Label	Typical Serving Size on New Nutrition Facts Label
Mixed Dishes	Appetizers, hors d’oeuvres, mini mixed dishes, (e.g., mini bagel pizzas, breaded mozzarella sticks, egg rolls, dumplings, pot stickers, wontons, mini quesadillas, mini quiches, mini sandwiches, mini pizza rolls, potato skins)	None	85g, add 35g for gravy or topping sauce
Sauces, Dips, Gravies and Condiments	Alfredo sauce	None	1/4 cup
Soups	Dry soup mixes and bouillons	None	Amount to make 245g
Sugars and Sweets	After dinner confectionaries	None	10g
	All other candies	40g	30g
	Fruit pastes and fruit chutney	None	1 tbsp.
	Liquid candies	None	15mL
	Powdered candies	None	15g
	Sugar	4g	8g
	Syrups	30mL for syrups used primarily as an ingredient (e.g., light or dark corn syrup); 60mL for all others	30mL for all syrups
Vegetables	Dried seaweed sheets	None	3g
	Dried vegetables, dried tomatoes, sun- dried tomatoes, dried mushrooms, dried seaweed	None	5g, add 5g for products packaged in oil
	Jalapeno and other hot peppers	None	30g
	Pickled vegetables	None	30g
	Sprouts, all types: Fresh or canned	None	1/4 cup