IS MFP ACCURATE?

Linda490

Is MFP accurate?. I have just checked on a mini melton mowbray pie and MFP comes up with no cholesterol but, on the packet the pies have saturated fats 5.3g - I don't really understand what is good and what is bad but, the internet states - stay away from saturated fats because they cause cholesterol!! I am confused - I am hoping that all the things I have listed in the last few days are, as they state cholesterol free. Can anyone advise - thank you

I am concerned as almost everything I put on MFP has no cholesterol and I think I am doing well but, I am really not sure.

cazwillis99

I always double check the nutritional values that MFP puts against the food i am eating. Most food is put on the database by users and not all get it right. I have seen 300g haddock for about 40 calories, salt & vinegar crisps with no sodium, 10 times the sodium in a cereal bar and many other errors. If you find an error you can go into the data base and correct them quite easily. Anything you think is wrong check against the pack to be on the safe side.

Umeboshi

MFP is usually pretty accurate, but sometimes people make food entries and don't enter the full information. The best thing you can do in that situation is to update the food entry to the correct info.

papastu

MFP is only as accurate as what people put in, if in doubt put the details in yourself

tami101

If the food listed has an asterisk ( * ) in front of it that means it has been entered by another member. Sometimes they don't always put all the information in. It can be hard sometimes, but if you have the actual package with the nutrition label, use it.

sdahri

I think it is accurate but it's also a community based tool. I'm sure MFP puts products into it's database but a lot of content is put there by the people who use the service- namely us. If you see data that appears inaccurrate then you have the ability to flag the data as incorrect and make an adjustment by clicking the text that says "nutritional info". I believe MFP is an american company so the content that is entered for UK based products may not be as up-to-date as it can be. It never hurts to check the nutritional information on the products just to be certain that you're eating items that will keep you on target to achieve your goals. Hope this helps.

Linda490

Thank you everyone for your replies.

Obviously not everything I put on here is shop bought but, I can't believe the only thing in the last few days (after seeing the doc) that has cholesterol is my porridge!
So I started to wonder, and when I selected Aldis Desira Blackcurrant cheesecake (for example) MFP states no cholesterol- as I am not sure about good/bad fats this may be correct but, I am doubtful. The packaging has calories, sugar, fat 12.3g, sats 6.0g and salt.

I have checked the product and it seems correct, I am still cofused though mmm maybe I should try another product as I can't believe there is no cholesterol in a cheesecake :-)

Thanks guys :-)

woou

you can also check to see how many confirmations a entry has. it's more likely to be accurate.

SorchaRavenlock

I've noticed that not every label has all the information MFP asks for when I'm entering foods myself.
For example, I recently entered a shop bought lasagne that listed Total Fat, but not the amount of Saturated Fat. That one comes up with 0 Saturated Fat now (which is something I track).
Looking at that Lasagne, it also didn't mention Cholesterol on the label so that shows as 0 as well

So it's not always a case of MFP (or MFP users) being inaccurate, as that not all labels provide all information unfortunately. And I don't know if there is any way to get information when it's not on the label.