Why Does The U.S. Still Use Calories On Nutrition Labels Instead Of Kilojoules?
Why Does The U.S. Still Use Calories On Nutrition Labels Instead Of Kilojoules? This is just one of the stories from our “I’ve Always Wondered ” series, where we tackle all of your questions about the world of business, no matter how big or small. Ever wondered if recycling is worth it? Or how store brands stack up against name brands? Check out more from the series here. Listener and reader Spencer Kitchen from Ogden, Utah, asks: I think I read somewhere that the joule replaced the calorie. That has led me to wonder: Why do we use outdated units (in the case of calories) in the U.S., or even the metric system at all, on consumer labeling? The calorie — a unit of energy with a very technical definition that is now used by people to assess how much food they should be eating — has been a part of our vernacular for more than a century. Even before nutrition labels had become mandatory on packaged food, the term had persisted for decades in diet books...