Candy bars can be packed with calories and fat, but they are not allowed to hide it. Candy bars must list the same nutrition information as any other food product. Even if the bars do not contain any vitamins, a zero has to appear on the label indicating this fact. They do get some leeway when it comes to listing serving size, so take note before you take a bite.
Size and Layout
Nutrition labels on candy bars must be printed in a typeface large enough for the average person to be able to easily read it. The minimum type face is 6 point. Because candy bars are usually long and skinny, nutrition labels can run horizontally rather than the following the traditional vertical layout, as long as they use at least the minimum type size and contain all the required information.
Required Information
The candy bar's calorie count, calories from fat and serving size and other nutrition information are required on the label. This includes values for total fat, cholesterol, sodium, carbohydrate and protein, which should all be broken down by weight and the percentage of the daily values they fulfill. Daily value percentage of vitamins and minerals are also required. Don't expect too many vitamins and minerals, but do expect a fair share of fat. A 40g milk chocolate Hershey bar, for example, has 210 calories, 110 of them from fat. Its 13g of total fat makes up 20 percent of your recommended daily dose of total fat and its 8g of saturated fat takes care of 40 percent of your daily recommended dose of saturated fat. The bar contains 8 percent of your daily calcium requirements and 2 percent of your iron.
Serving Size
Beware of that giant candy bar with the label that states it only has 170 calories. The serving size listed on the label of a candy bar is not necessarily the size of the entire bar. Nutrition labels can state the Reference Amounts Customary Consumed, which the FDA gauges to be 40g for a candy bar, or they can count the entire bar as one serving size if the bar weighs 200 percent or more of the Reference Amounts Customary Consumed. A King Size Snickers bar, for example, weighs 105g. The nutrition label options are either listing the calorie count for the entire bar or breaking it down to the approximate Reference Amount Customary Consumed. Snickers went with the latter, listing the serving size at one-third the bar, or 35g.
Variety Packs
Packages that contain several individual candy bars sold as a single unit can display the nutrition label on the outside of the main package. Options on the outside of the main package are either one label for each specific candy bar or an aggregate label that resembles a graph. Each column on the label represents information from a different type of candy bar. The label still needs to meet the minimum typeface size.
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