Guide
Net carbs: what they are and how to count them
Net carbs are total carbohydrate minus fiber. FDA has not defined the term, so labels show total carbohydrate; you can work net carbs out from the label yourself.
Published · By GetFoodFacts · the rules are cited to FDA and USDA, the figures computed from USDA FoodData Central (April 30, 2026 release)
The arithmetic
Take "Total Carbohydrate" and subtract "Dietary Fiber" from the same serving: 20 g of carbohydrate with 6 g of fiber is 14 g of net carbs. Some packages also subtract sugar alcohols or allulose and print their own "net carbs"; FDA has not defined that number, so it is the manufacturer's own sum. GetFoodFacts uses carbohydrate minus fiber everywhere, from the values on the label.
Packaged aisles, lowest and highest
| Aisle | Median net carbs per 100 g | Products |
|---|---|---|
| Bacon | 0 g | 1,072 |
| Butter | 0 g | 904 |
| Canned chicken | 0 g | 297 |
| Canned tuna | 0 g | 832 |
| Cooking oil | 0 g | 2,763 |
| Eggs | 0 g | 772 |
| Honey | 81.0 g | 984 |
| Candy | 80.0 g | 19,138 |
| Rice | 77.8 g | 1,465 |
| Syrup | 76.7 g | 1,522 |
| Pasta | 69.6 g | 6,052 |
| Cereal | 67.4 g | 7,126 |
Source: USDA FoodData Central branded foods, April 30, 2026 release; carbohydrate minus fiber per 100 g.
Foods with 5 g or less per portion
157 of USDA's reference foods have 5 g of net carbs or less in a typical portion, the threshold keto food lists use; the list ranks them, with the ones that have none first.
Sources for this page
- USDA FoodData Central
- the food and product records, April 30, 2026 release. fdc.nal.usda.gov
- USDA Food and Nutrient Database for Dietary Studies
- the survey foods and their portions. ars.usda.gov
- 21 CFR 101.9, Nutrition labeling of food
- the label format, rounding and Daily Values. ecfr.gov
- 21 CFR 101.12, Reference amounts customarily consumed
- the serving each kind of food is labeled by. ecfr.gov
- FDA, Daily Value on the Nutrition and Supplement Facts Labels
- the Daily Values in a table. fda.gov