Why Do Food Labels Use Calories Instead of Joules or Kilojoules?
The U.S. standards for food labels call for using “calories.” This is actually the colloquial term for kilocalorie, or kilogram calorie. The term calorie refers to a measurement of energy that comes from the French term “calor,” meaning heat. Countries in the European Union use kilojoules on their labels. A joule is the standard in the International System of Units for measuring energy.
