calories and kcal

Hi!
I just want to know if the unit of measure for calories is kcal?
I saw one label with this:
calories = 27kcal
Is it correct?
I thought kcal is for energy.
I hope you can help.

thanks,
RR

[Robert Fogt]

Are you reading a nutritional label?

If so, a Calorie is the same as a kcal.

The nutritional Calorie is 1000 standard calories. A kcal is a kilocalorie which is 1000 calories. So a nutritional Calorie is the same as a kcal.

Notice the capitalization, the nutritional Calorie is capitalized, while the standard calorie is not. Very confusing I know.

I know it's late and I'm digging up an old thread but thanks Robert, this information was helpful to me. Keep it up.

In New Zealand all our food is labelled in kilojoules (it makes math soooooo much easier imho) but when comparing notes with Americans and others it means you have to start doing odd conversions......

What is "energyKJ"?
on a US label something is 120 calories
KCal would also be 120?
What would be the equivalent energyKJ?
Is it 120 calories/4.1868 joules?

[JohnS]

Originally Posted by Jean

What is "energyKJ"?
on a US label something is 120 calories
KCal would also be 120?
What would be the equivalent energyKJ?
Is it 120 calories/4.1868 joules?

The calorie heats 1 g of water 1 °C. The Calorie (capital C) heats 1 kg of water 1 °C. Nutritional calories are ALWAYS Calories (or kilocalories)
1 nutritional calorie (as on a food label) = 4.184 kJ.
(or close to it. Since the specific heat of water is not precisely constant, there are several calories based on the starting temperature of the water. The differences amount to a few digits in the fourth place of the above conversion.)

Hi, im in germany and im still confused after reading your forum and researching on line.
Is 223kcal reallly 223 american food calories.? and maybe the reason it seems so high for a piece of bread is that the serving size is actually more then one piece? ALthough I cant figure out where the serving size is. Anyone have any idea how this reads in German.

[JohnS]

Originally Posted by Unregistered

Hi, im in germany and im still confused after reading your forum and researching on line.
Is 223kcal reallly 223 american food calories.? and maybe the reason it seems so high for a piece of bread is that the serving size is actually more then one piece? ALthough I cant figure out where the serving size is. Anyone have any idea how this reads in German.

American food calories are always Calories (capital "C") or kilocalories. See post #5 for conversion to kilojoules.

223 kcal seems high for one slice of plain bread, roughly 2:1 high. However, with butter and jam, or any other topping, or for two slices in a sandwich, or for an oversized slice, it is possible.

Do you actually have the product? If it is packaged under American law, the serving size must be specified within the nutritional label in both US Customary measure and in metric above the rest of the nutritional information. (For a product like bread, the Customary may be in slices)

Hi!
What is a differences beetwin cal & Kcal & kcal?

[JohnS]

Originally Posted by Unregistered

Hi!
What is a differences beetwin cal & Kcal & kcal?

See post #5. In science class, the difference between cal and kcal is 1:1000. On food labels, they are the same. Food "calories" are ALWAYS really kilocalories (or Calories with a capital "C")

Originally Posted by JohnS

See post #5. In science class, the difference between cal and kcal is 1:1000. On food labels, they are the same. Food "calories" are ALWAYS really kilocalories (or Calories with a capital "C")

All this info is confusing.if I run 3 kilometers (about 1.8 miles) I burn 400 calories (per the machine)..and if I drink 2 isotonik drinks (gatorade) I am getting 240 kcal..I just messed upo the excersice by getting re-hydrated????