A single value doesn’t seem like it would make a huge difference when it comes to the ingredients included in processed food goods. Look at a story recently reported in the Baltimore Sun about one brand’s recent cookie nutrition-label error, and note the difference that a single number can make on bakery labels.
The source tells how the nutrition labels on the Berger brand of baked goods traditionally show them to have a single gram of trans fat. Now, these labels show that there is 0 percent trans-fat in these cookies, a small but notable difference in the product. However, this turned out to be a false alarm: the 0 percent label is an error and the fat content remains the same.
Although Charles DeBaufre of Berger Cookies told the source he is using different ingredients to come up with a way to make the fudge-topped cookies without any trans fats, the current batch being sold does indeed still possess the one gram, and the labels are wrong. This is partly because DeBaufre has noting to do with the printing or designing of these labels, he says.
“[The nutritional label] is something we just buy,” he said. “I don’t know why they changed it. I signed off on it without looking.”
At a time when the levels of other ingredients in foods, like salt, are being changed without the consumer being aware, the company in charge of food products needs to make sure that they aren’t deceiving their customer base. By using industrial labeling systems to meet production levels and ensure accuracy, businesses big and small can sidestep errors.