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Table 2 Comparison between the median calories currently listed on the Nutrition Facts Table (NFT) and the calories per reference amount

From: Unregulated serving sizes on the Canadian nutrition facts table – an invitation for manufacturer manipulations

Food group Number Median Calories (kcal)/manufacturer stated serving size on NFT (g) Median Calories (kcal)/reference amount (g) p* Minimum calories (kcal)/serving size on NFT† (g) Maximum calories (kcal)/serving size on NFTa (g)
Bakery Products
 1. Bread 183 130 127 0.011 60 230
 2. Bagels, tea biscuits, scones etc. 227 150 147 0.001 40 350
 7. Coffee cakes, doughnuts, danishes etc. 89 200 215 0.913 60 520
 8. Cookies, graham wafers 294 140 141 0.999 30 250
 9. Crackers, hard bread sticks etc. 238 90 90 na 60 247
 14. Croutons 53 35 30 0.001 25 110
 15. French toast, pancakes, and waffles 93 140 167 0.001‡ 90 230
 17. Grain-based bars with filling and coating 85 110 123 0.215 90 230
 18. Rice cakes and corn cakes 62 60 64 0.028‡ 30 230
 19. Pies, tarts, cobblers, turnovers 94 305 321 0.001‡ 80 430
Cereals and Other Grain Products
 28. Hot breakfast cereals 57 150 155 0.127 90 210
 30. Breakfast cereals without fruit or nuts 85 120 116 0.607 80 130
 31. Breakfast cereals with fruit and nuts 145 210 214 0.022‡ 90 270
 34. Grains, such as rice or barley 85 160 160 0.349 110 360
 35. Pastas without sauce 383 300 302 0.007‡ 110 342
Dairy Products and Substitutes
 39. Cheese 380 90 100 0.001‡ 20 190
 43. Quark, fresh cheese and fresh dairy desserts 63 90 286 0.001‡ 60 190
 49. Plant-based beverages 138 120 130 0.001‡ 30 230
 52. Yogurt 95 100 140 0.001‡ 35 260
Desserts
 53. Ice cream, ice milk, frozen yogurt, sherbet 282 140 140 na 60 340
 54. Dairy desserts, frozen 97 180 250 0.001 40 360
Fats and Oils
 64. Butter, margarine, shortening, lard 91 70 70 na 25 90
 65. Vegetable oil 105 80 80 0.001§ 80 130
 67. Dressings for salad 227 45 90 0.001‡ 10 160
Marine and Fresh Water Animals
 72. Marine and fresh water animals 132 170 223 0.001‡ 65 540
 73. Marine and fresh water animals, canned 116 90 71 0.001 25 240
Fruits and Fruit Juices
 75. Fruit, fresh, canned or frozen 167 80 91 0.001‡ 30 220
 77. Dried fruit 69 120 122 0.831 40 270
 83. Juices, nectars and fruit drinks 553 120 125 0.001‡ 10 200
Legumes
 86. Beans, peas and lentils 78 340 350 0.001‡ 35 420
Meat, Poultry, Their Products and Substitutes
 90. Luncheon meats 107 60 61 0.001‡ 30 170
 91. Sausages 102 150 142 0.03 40 370
 93. Patties, cutlettes, chopettes etc. 103 230 211 0.001 70 550
 96. Meat and poultry with sauce 106 190 252 0.001‡ 90 410
Miscellaneous category
 99. Bread crumbs and batter mixes 151 150 118 0.001 30 350
Combination Dishes
 107. Measurable 366 275 284 0.957 110 700
 108. Not measurable 304 290 309 0.907 80 660
 109. Hor d’oeuvres 104 155 124 0.055 70 452
Nuts and Seeds
 110. Nuts and seeds 67 260 190 0.001 80 380
Sauces, Dips, Gravies and Condiments
 120. Sauces for dipping 117 60 60 na 10 170
 121. Dips 92 60 63 0.907 15 170
 122. Major main entree sauce 145 70 70 0.001§ 20 270
 123. Minor main entree sauce 102 20 25 0.001‡ 10 310
 124. Major condiments 100 20 20 na 5 70
 125. Minor condiments 48 5 5 0.248 0 80
Snacks
 126. Chips, pretzels, popcorn, extruded snacks 375 240 250 0.001‡ 40 330
 127. Nuts or seeds for use as snacks 88 280 290 0.021‡ 160 440
Sugars and Sweets
 137. Jams, jellies, marmalades etc. 145 50 50 0.479 5 80
 141. Syrups 50 120 220 0.001‡ 30 468
Vegetables
 150. Pickles 54 10 9 0.025 3 70
  1. a NFT = Nutrition Facts Table, the mandatory nutrition labelling required on all packaged food products
  2. *because data was non-normal, p-values reflect significance according to the Sign Test
  3. ‡indicates categories where the median calories per reference amount is significantly greater than the median calories per stated serving
  4. §In two instances the p-value is significant but there is no difference in the median, this is due to the fact that signficance was determined according to the sign-test
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