How Do They Get The Nutrition Facts For Foods?
Posted by Zolly | Under Nutrition Tuesday Jun 30, 2009how do they get the amount of fat, calories, carbs protein. sugars, etc. i just dont get how its done and accurately. 10 points for the best answer.
They use what is called a calorimeter.
First they dehydrate the food in a lab and then burn the remains until they are gone. The amount of heat that is released during the burning is measured by how much the heat itself raises the temperature of water.
A calorie is measured by how much energy (heat) is required to raise one kilogram of water 1 degree. So, if you burn a peanut and at the end of the burning the water is 20 degrees hotter then the peanut has 20 calories.
You can check USDA Nutrient Database, or simply search the nutrients content on http://nutrient.javalime.com