Deceptive Packaging

Seriously? Why would they do this?

I was just looking at a package of six cheese danish, and I decided to flip the box over and look at the calorie count, and I’m shocked to see it says 170 calories. Really? That seems so low? So then I look at the portion size, and it says 55g. But how much is that? Maybe grams should compute with me – maybe that’s a flaw that I need to fix in myself – but right now 55g is a completely meaningless measurement to me. And I almost let it go at that, because after all, the entire package is marked as 21 ounces and 6 count, so I’m thinking that means I should be able to divide 21 ounces by the 6 count, and get about 3.5 ounces – that seems logical.

Then I notice the servings per container figure. Keep in mind that the label says in large print, 6 count. And there are 6 distinct danishes in the box. But what is the official servings per container in tiny little print? Approximately 11.

Seriously? If they wanted to say that half a danish was the serving size, that I could see. That would make sense. But approximately 11 servings? How do you get 11 servings from 6 sweet rolls?

Yes, I know they can sell more sweet rolls if the consumer sees 170 calories, and doesn’t realize that’s for only a fraction, and not the whole roll. I get that. And I also get that half a sweet roll is probably more than enough, and it’s a flaw in my thinking to just assume that a serving size should be a full roll. But if the package has 6 rolls, and yet the official servings per container is 11? That just seems unnecessarily complicated and frankly, deceptive!

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