FDA's allowed error in food labels?

The FDA allows food labels to have a margin of error of up to 20-25%. This means the actual calorie content can be off by this percentage, either higher or lower, than what is stated on the label. When dining out, this error margin combined with human discrepancies in portion sizes can lead to even greater inaccuracies, making it difficult to precisely track intake 1.

In practice, restaurants and food manufacturers may exploit this permissible range. For instance, companies might underreport calories to make their products appear more diet-friendly, while restaurants might serve larger portions to keep customers satisfied, thus exceeding reported calorie counts significantly 2 3.