Is the food database always correct?

petrinaradford

If members add foods into the database manually.

DaddieCat

No. The database is user maintained and full of garbage. Also, the verified checks don't mean anything either.

Either find accurate entries and use those repeatedly, or enter your own and use those.

nighthawk584

definitely not! especially when it comes to meat. Check the USDA site to verify.

missysippy930

No

petrinaradford

Oh no, I was hoping there were food options that were specifically chosen/made by myfitnesspal.
Ok if I researched the calories myself & wanted to enter them, would I have to upgrade to premium?

ceiswyn

No, you can enter nutritional information for something using the web page.

Though to be honest I just glance at the info on the package and grab any DB entry that looks like it matches

bpetrosky

petrinaradford wrote: »

Oh no, I was hoping there were food options that were specifically chosen/made by myfitnesspal.
Ok if I researched the calories myself & wanted to enter them, would I have to upgrade to premium?

No. You can always create a new entry in the database. If you don't set the entry to public it will only be visible to you in 'My Foods'. I have several such entries for my personal use.

try2again

I only rarely have to make a new entry. There is almost always a match to my packaging info within the first few entries (granted I look primarily at calories and am not too concerned with the nutritional breakdown).

petrinaradford

Oh great thanks guys... phew 😊 that’s great. I’ll do that

MikePTY

There is almost always a right entry in the database. It is just surrounded by wrong entries. All it takes is a quick cross reference between your package or USDA database to confirm which is right. It's easier than entering new entries.

earlnabby

Also, don't scan barcodes and use that info. It is even less accurate than user entered items.

If you make a dish, use the recipe builder to create the recipe and use that info. Don't use a user entered "homemade" entry. You have no idea what went into it. The "import recipe" function will save you a little time for recipes you found online because you don't have to enter each item separately but you still have to double check each ingredient and tweak the recipe. One good thing about it is that the link to the original will be in your recipe database if you need to read the directions.

Safari_Gal_

No sadly. I use the barcode scanner as much as possible. I once made poached fish and added parsley and it told me the parsley was 300 calories a teaspoon. 😏

JeromeBarry1

For raw meat and raw vegetables, describe the thing, then say "raw, usda". That will almost always bring up the perfect database entry for the food you want. When you see a 5-digit number, that's even better as it's an identifier used by the USDA database. For spices, start with "spices", then describe the spice, then say "usda". That works almost every time.

LyndaBSS

petrinaradford wrote: »

If members add foods into the database manually.

You have to either enter foods on your own with verified facts or use a huge dose of common sense.

lemurcat2

Safari_Gal_ wrote: »

No sadly. I use the barcode scanner as much as possible. I once made poached fish and added parsley and it told me the parsley was 300 calories a teaspoon. 😏

The barcode scanner is no more accurate.

The best thing to do is to learn to recognize the good USDA entries for whole foods and to check everything else against your package.

cwolfman13

Safari_Gal_ wrote: »

No sadly. I use the barcode scanner as much as possible. I once made poached fish and added parsley and it told me the parsley was 300 calories a teaspoon. 😏

The barcode scanner is pulling from the same database as it would if you'd done a search option in the app...it can pull an erroneous entry just as easily as doing a manual search.

NovusDies

I find the level of error goes up with the wishful thinking of the person that enters an item. Vegetables and low calorie products have a better chance of being right or they have a better chance of someone (like me) correcting it. On the other hand if you are talking about a higher calorie item like cheese I think some people enter lower calories hoping that will make it magically become true.

That is not a rule to follow by the way. I have seen plenty of incorrect lower calorie foods but not as many as things that are 150+ per serving.

kshama2001

Unfortunately, the "verified" green check marks in the MFP database are used for both user-created entries and admin-created entries that MFP pulled from the USDA database. To find admin entries for whole foods, I get the syntax from the USDA database and paste that into MFP.

Note: any MFP entry that includes "USDA" was user entered.

For packaged foods, I verify the label against what I find in MFP. (Alas, you cannot just scan with your phone and assume what you get is correct.)

petrinaradford

I found that say on packaging you know how it gives you the kilojoules - well using a converter, convert to calories.
Then once you know the calories, find something in the database that matches that & if not make your own entry.
Does everyone else think this is ok?

petrinaradford

For example 535 klj is 128 calories

lynn_glenmont

You can change your settings on MFP to kilojoules.

ceiswyn

Safari_Gal_ wrote: »

No sadly. I use the barcode scanner as much as possible. I once made poached fish and added parsley and it told me the parsley was 300 calories a teaspoon. 😏

The barcode scanner is just a quick way of doing a database search. Literally all it does is save you the time of typing in the name of the food. But it pulls up the same list of possibly inaccurate entries.

earlnabby

petrinaradford wrote: »

I found that say on packaging you know how it gives you the kilojoules - well using a converter, convert to calories.
Then once you know the calories, find something in the database that matches that & if not make your own entry.
Does everyone else think this is ok?

You have the right idea regarding finding or creating an accurate entry. Like lynn said, changing your settings will make it even easier. Go to Settings -> Account Settings -> Change Units. Near the bottom of the list is where you can choose calories or kj for your energy.