USDA reveals nuts have fewer calories than previously thought, KIND Healthy Snacks updates labels

16 Jan 2020 --- Despite an unchanged product, KIND Healthy Snacks has reduced the labeled calorie count by 10-30 calories on more than 95 percent of its nut snack bar portfolio. This is the result of research led by the US Department of Agriculture (USDA)’s Agricultural Research Service, which revealed that whole almonds and cashews contribute 19 and 16 percent fewer calories, respectively, than previously thought due to the way the body digests the fat in nuts. This discovery could have further knock-on effects for other nut brands as the current method of measuring calories is increasingly acknowledged as being outdated and inaccurate.

“From a research perspective, the new research suggests that not all the calorie values we see on food labeling are accurate. Certainly for some foods, nutrition science can do better. Accurate information on food composition should be important to consumers for them to make healthy decisions about the food they choose,” Dr. David Baer, Supervisory Research Physiologist, Food Components and Health Laboratory at the USDA, tells NutritionInsight.

While the calorie count was lowered, the rest of the nutritional profile remained the same.KIND Healthy Snacks has redesigned its packaging to reflect the updated nutritional information. While the research allows for relabeling a caloric intake per bar, it did not find evidence for changes in the bars’ fat, fiber or protein levels. Notably, KIND’s best-selling offering Dark Chocolate Nuts & Sea Salt, will shift from 200 to 180 calories. 

“Our effort is focused on educating our community about the importance of this updated nut calorie research to help them make more informed food choices,” Stephanie Csaszar, in-house Dietitian and Health & Wellness Expert at KIND Snacks, also tells NutritionInsight. 

“Over the years, we have worked to elevate transparency on our own labels while also encouraging the industry to do the same. For example, in 2016, we became the first national snack brand to disclose added sugar content on our nutrition facts panel. We felt it was important to share with our community that the science surrounding calories has evolved and we want them to have the most reliable information based on this scientific advancement,” she explains. 

This research is particularly significant given how tree nut consumption in the US has grown 88 percent between 2000-2017, according to the USDA Economic Research Service. Indeed, nuts are not only being increasingly incorporated in snack offerings for their nutritional value, but also as a protein source in plant-based meat and dairy analogs. According to Innova Market Insights, there has been a boom in non-soy plant-based ingredients usage for beverages. This includes almonds and cashews – the subjects of the USDA’s research – but also hazelnuts, walnuts and macadamias.

Outdated measuring system
More evidence is coming to the fore that the standard way of measuring calories – the 100-year-old Atwater system – is inaccurate when it comes to certain foods, like nuts. Dr. Baer highlights that historically, the calories in foods have been determined based on nutrient composition of the food, such as protein, fat and carbohydrates, and multiplying the amount of those nutrients by factors determine energy – or calories. 

“The factors used were mostly developed in the late 1800s and very early 1900s. While that research was state-of-the-art for the time, there are limitations. The method my colleague Dr. Janet Novotny and I developed overcomes some of those limitations,” he explains. 

“Our findings suggest that a more accurate representation of calories and food companies using nuts in their products will be able to provide clearer information to the public,” Dr. Baer concludes.  

By Anni Schleicher