How are calories estimated for foods packed in oil?

May 3, 2011 6:33 AM

I have a little packet of ten kalamata olives in approximately two tablespoons (as a conservative estimate) of herby oil , and the nutrition info claims the whole packet contains 180 kcal. This leads to the question, how is calorie count estimated for food packaged in a calorific medium such as oil when most of the oil is usually left in the jar or drained off?

I know that one tablespoon of oil is 120 kcal, and I read from a reliable source online that pitted kalamatas are 32 kcal for five olives in brine. So if my estimation of the amount of oil is correct, we’re looking at about 300 kcal total if you suck down all the oil and about 60 kcal if you rinsed all the oil from the olives. So it looks like the calorie count of 180 kcal is allowing for the consumption of about half the oil. Makes sense, I suppose, but half of the oil seems like an excessive estimate. I certainly didn’t consume that much of it . Anyway it seems that depending on the person eating the olives, or whether they’re going to be eaten as a snack or drained to use in a recipe, etc. that the amount of oil being consumed could vary widely from one situation to another.

So basically I’m just wondering if there a standard way to calculate the calories for things like olives, tuna, peppers, etc. that are packed in oil or is it up to the manufacturer to decide how much of the oil is likely to be consumed? I’m not a calorie counter, to be honest, but I just get curious about strange things sometimes. I’m in the UK if that makes any difference regarding package nutrition labelling regulations.

posted by cilantro to Food & Drink (3 answers total)

I'm pretty sure the nutritional information has to be for the product as packaged.

I've sometimes seen packaging where additional energy information was given for 'prepared' or 'drained' product, i.e. where the preserving medium has been removed, or where the product has been made up, as in the case of a dry soup mix.

So there's often going to be a gap between the strict, measured values and the practical calories. It's not just calories, either. Foods sprinkled with salt will tend to have a lower-than-stated salt content because a significant amount of salt can get left in the packaging. When you buy uncooked meat, any nutritional analysis is based on a typical sample of raw meat, and so the fat (and therefore energy) content may have dropped by a significant amount during cooking.
posted by le morte de bea arthur at 6:58 AM on May 3, 2011

Previously, bacon.

For at least some foods, the nutrition information includes only what is expected to be consumed, not everything in the package.
posted by mbrubeck at 7:57 AM on May 3, 2011

What's it say for the serving size? 'Five olives'? Or '1/2 packet'?
posted by Lady Li at 8:58 AM on May 3, 2011