Fuzzy Math on Food Labels

The food industry is selling American consumers healthful food items with an added ingredient: fuzzy math. A Local 6/Seminole magazine investigation found that many of the foods we buy are marketed and sold with a government-approved formula to get the fat-free and low-fat numbers consumers want.

One of the most surprising examples of the industry's fuzzy math is 2 percent low-fat milk.

We went shopping to put the numbers to the test. We bought a half-gallon of 2 percent reduced-fat milk and were surprised to discover each serving is actually 130 calories with 45 calories from fat. That means each glass of 2 percent low-fat milk is actually 21 percent fat per serving.

Jeffrey Novick, Director of Nutrition for the Pritikin Longevity Center, says the math is technically true, but "what consumers don't realize," he says, "is that's two percent by weight."

Novick is no stranger to the food industry, having spent years with Kraft Foods. He has launched a one-man campaign to expose what he calls the "tricks" that are used to come up with those eye-catching numbers. During a recent visit to Orlando, Novick told physicians at a Florida Hospital lifestyles seminar that Americans have been on a steady weight gain for the last 20 years. What we eat is the key.

The day before that presentation, we met to talk about what he calls "creative math." He pulled out a can of Campbell's 98-percent fat-free cream of celery soup. It clearly states "98-percent fat-free" right on the front label. It turns out Campbell's is using the same "by weight" formula we found on our milk container. The real fat-per-serving count is roughly 40 percent. In fact, the nutrition facts on the back show 60 calories per serving, with 25 calories from fat. A spokesperson for Campbell's says this is no marketing conspiracy but is, in fact, "the standard set by the FDA and the USDA."

Novick recites the formula without missing a beat: "You divide the weight of the fat by the weight of the serving, and you come out with 2 percent fat by weight." The charismatic researcher and author blasts the food industry's math and marketing spin with a touch of sarcasm. "Let me tell you something," he says with a smile. "I've found the weapons of mass destruction, they're right here and they're killing us." He laughs as he announces his faux discovery, but a moment later tempers the laughter: "We know," he says.

He's talking about America's obesity epidemic. Recent studies show that 64 percent of adults in this country are either overweight or obese. Novick is convinced consumers aren't reading the details on the labels. So "every day in America, thousands of people are buying products, and they're not sure what's going on."
Now you do.

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Mike Holfeld is a reporter for WKMG Local 6 News, and a regular contributor to Seminole magazine.