Food at a Glance

 Nutrition

The last time you scooped some ice cream for dessert, did you limit yourself to half a cup? If you took more—you’re right in step with most people these days.

Likewise with a soft drink: Do you drink 8 ounces, 12 ounces, or even the whole 20-ounce bottle?Ice cream and soft drinks are just two food products that have been affected by changes in serving size requirements that are included in the updated Nutrition Facts label. The goal: to bring serving sizes closer to what people actually eat so that when they look at calories and nutrients on the label, these numbers more closely match what they are consuming.

The serving sizes listed on the Nutrition Facts label are not recommended serving sizes. By law, serving sizes must be based on how much food people actually consume, and not on what they should eat.