One man recently learned the hard way that we can’t always trust exactly what is written on food labels. Below, you’ll find thethat he shared on Reddit detailing how he figured out that Tic Tacs do in fact have calories, as well as some of the replies that amused readers left him.
I had probably never looked at a food label in my life until I was about 18 years old. When I went vegan, however, I was suddenly obsessed with reading labels to ensure that I didn’t accidentally purchase any food items with sneaky amounts of milk powder, eggs, butter or honey hiding inside.
The caloric amount can also be confusing, as the first and largest number is typically an amount per serving, not per container. So be sure to check before assuming a whole slice of cake is only 200 calories. The nutrient section is important to know which ones to get less of, as well as which ones to get more of. The FDA recommends cutting down on saturated fat, sodium and added sugars as much as possible.
For example, “light” products might just be watered down, and “low-calorie” just means that it has one third less calories than the company’s original version. But this version might have the same amount of calories as another brand’s “original.” There are also dozens of different names for sugar that you probably should be aware of.
We would love to hear your thoughts on this situation in the comments below, pandas.