Reference serving sizes for the Brazilian population: An analysis of processed food labels

OBJECTIVE:To compare serving sizes reported on processed food labels with reference serving sizes according to nutrition labeling legislation and the "Food Guide for the Brazilian Population".METHODS:This cross-sectional study analyzed the labels of 2,072 processed foods in a supermarket of Florianópolis, Santa Caratina, Brazil. The foods were classified according to the Brazilian food labeling legislation. Central tendency and variability values were calculated for the serving sizes and energy values reported on the labels, as well as the ratio between the reported and reference energy value. The Spearman correlation test was performed between the reference serving size and the reference energy density, and also between the reference serving size and energy density of each study food.RESULTS:Nutrition labeling and the Food Guide presented reference servings with different sizes and energy values. The serving sizes reported on the labels did not follow either of the references and presented heterogeneous values, with a maximum range of 55-240 g among ready and semi-ready pre-prepared dishes. The reported energy values were between 0.1 times smaller and 2.4 times larger than the reference values. The reference serving sizes presented a highly inverse correlation with the reference energy density (Spearman coefficient= 0.9) and a very low inverse correlation with the energy density of the foods analyzed (Spearman coefficient= 0.2).CONCLUSION:This study showed the need for standardizing reference serving size information for the Brazilian population as well as reviewing nutrition labeling legislation in order to standardize the serving sizes reported on labels and to update the reference energy density used to calculate serving sizes.

研究目的：对比加工食品标签上标注的食用分量与依据巴西营养标签法规及《巴西居民膳食指南》（Food Guide for the Brazilian Population）确定的参考食用分量。
研究方法：本横断面研究（cross-sectional study）对巴西圣卡塔琳娜州弗洛里亚诺波利斯市某超市内的2072款加工食品标签进行分析。依据巴西食品标签法规对食品进行分类，计算标签上标注的食用分量与能量值的集中趋势、离散程度指标，以及标注能量值与参考能量值的比值。分别针对参考食用分量与参考能量密度、各研究食品的参考食用分量与能量密度开展斯皮尔曼（Spearman）相关性检验。
研究结果：营养标签法规与膳食指南所规定的参考食用分量及能量值存在差异。标签上标注的食用分量未遵循任一参考标准，且数值异质性显著，即食及半即食预制菜肴的分量范围最大可达55克至240克。标注的能量值可为参考值的0.1倍至2.4倍。参考食用分量与参考能量密度呈高度负相关（斯皮尔曼系数=0.9），与所分析食品的能量密度呈极弱负相关（斯皮尔曼系数=0.2）。
研究结论：本研究表明，需为巴西居民统一参考食用分量信息，并修订营养标签法规，以规范食品标签上标注的食用分量，同时更新用于计算食用分量的参考能量密度标准。