Inaccuracies in app

Lisa_Arrow
Lisa_Arrow Posts: 1 Member
in Food and Nutrition
Hello. Can someone explain why I get inaccurate messages when I log some foods on the app? For instance, I logged 1/2 a banana as part of my breakfast and it says that food is “high in saturated fat.” Of course it isn’t. This is not the first time something like this has happened. Any idea what’s up?

Replies

  • yirara
    yirara Posts: 10,075 Member
    The largest part of the database is user sourced. Someone could have done a friend banana and added it under 'banana' for anyone to use. You need to find database entries that match the calories and macros. For fruit and veg I usually quickly check wiki. But the USDA database is probably the best thing to check.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    Lisa_Arrow wrote: »
    Hello. Can someone explain why I get inaccurate messages when I log some foods on the app? For instance, I logged 1/2 a banana as part of my breakfast and it says that food is “high in saturated fat.” Of course it isn’t. This is not the first time something like this has happened. Any idea what’s up?

    Most likely you selected a bad entry. The database is crowdsourced from other users and you need to vet your entries.
  • lynn_glenmont
    lynn_glenmont Posts: 10,119 Member
    You are getting inaccurate messages because you are selecting inaccurate entries.
  • mmatcha_latte
    mmatcha_latte Posts: 174 Member
    Try to choose entries with a green checkmark
  • springlering62
    springlering62 Posts: 8,976 Member
    Entries are crowdsourced and, unfortunately, garbage in, garbage out.

    I’ll usually go to the old USDA list to confirm fruits, veg, meat before selecting one. Once in, if it’s an item you eat regularly, it should pop right up the next time.

    Packaged foods, simply compare the label til you find one that matches. Recipes may have changed, serving sizes changed etc so don’t rely on the first “Oscar Meyer Beef Hotdog” that shows up. Make sure it’s a match for the current label.

    Frequently eaten foods do drop off after 2-3 weeks, though, which makes me mental, because we travel a lot and I waste a lot of time repopulating my database once we return.
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 28,055 Member
    Unfortunately, the 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. A green check mark for USER-created entries just means enough people have upvoted the entry - it is not necessarily correct.

    To find ADMIN entries for whole foods, I get the syntax from the USDA database and paste that into MFP. All ADMIN entries from the USDA will have weights as an option BUT there is a glitch whereby sometimes 1g is the option but the values are actually for 100g. This is pretty easy to spot though, as when added the calories are 100x more than is reasonable.

    https://fdc.nal.usda.gov

    Use the “SR Legacy” tab - that's what MFP used to pull in entries.

    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. Note: scanning is mostly only available with Premium these days.)

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