Why does the sum of the weights of the substances in the nutrition table often not match the declared weight?
Did you know...Often, in the nutrition declaration of supplements (
the nutrition table), which shows the weight of the substances in the product,
the sum of the weights does not match the declared weight.
This is because
the nutrition table does not usually list all the substances in the product, which must instead be listed in descending order of weight in the "ingredients".
For example, additives do not appear in the nutrition declaration, and neither does the water naturally present in the product.
The weight of a substance shown in the nutrition table matches that of the product only if it is a simple substance; otherwise the actual weight of the capsule, tablet etc. must be higher than the declared weight:
- Example no. 1: if a capsule contains 200 milligrams of carnitine, this weight matches that of the ingredient only if the carnitine used is the simple substance, i.e. carnitine base. If carnitine is present as a compound (for example carnitine hydrochloride), 200 mg of carnitine in the nutrition declaration corresponds to an actual weight of 245 mg of carnitine hydrochloride as an "ingredient".
- Example no. 2: if tablets made only of dextrose in the form of sugar weigh 2 g, the ingredients must read "sugar" and the nutrition table "dextrose 1.0 g".
