Watch out for inaccuracies in database..

NWCountryGal
NWCountryGal Posts: 1,992 Member
in Food and Nutrition
people/members have entered many foods into the MFP database. Maybe all of it(members I mean). My point is, be sure to check for accuracy. I am pretty stupid not to have checked the calories in Dynasty Jasmine Rice. I just entered it without thinking. It says for 1/2 a cup of prepared Dynasty Jasmine Rice, 107 calories. That may be correct for a 1/4 cup but not for 1/2. !/2 a cup is 300 or more of the Jasmine Rice brands I buy.

It was my fault and I am not blaming anyone but myself for being too lazy to check, I just want to warn others to take the time to check out entries in our database.
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Replies

  • julesribar
    julesribar Posts: 43 Member
    Great post!!! I recheck stuff all the time! :wink:
  • gtfitpal
    gtfitpal Posts: 10 Member
    I scan the bar code labels as much as I can with my smartphone. Makes for better accuracy.
  • mfoutch86
    mfoutch86 Posts: 87
    Ditto! I have also noticed that people tend to only enter the calories and fat, with no info on other important things like protien, carbs and most of all SODIUM. I have to triple check everything, and that takes up alot of time. I know that not everybody is watching their sodium levels, but it helps everybody to fill out the nutrition info as much as possible!
  • sharleengc
    sharleengc Posts: 792 Member
    I usually check the box before I check the database so it's fresh in my mind when I go to add it...I've caught a few inconsistencies as well!
  • BlisterLamb
    BlisterLamb Posts: 396 Member
    I always look for the ones with higher confirmations.
  • Babymomakell
    Babymomakell Posts: 257 Member
    Yep, I always check the entries before I log them. It does help to log your meals before you eat/cook them... therefore you can catch and fix any errors in portions or logging =)
  • natesangel
    natesangel Posts: 210 Member
    yep took me a while to notice this too, even notice it with my smartphone entries scanned but yeah less often! even the higher confirmations are not always accurate as products are a little different in different countries (seriously, canada to usa values differ quite a bit!)
  • meshashesha2012
    meshashesha2012 Posts: 8,329 Member
    i recently found one for guerrero small corn tortilas. the database says a serving size is 3 tortillas but the package says 2 is the serving size.

    i ty to pay attention but in general my assumption is that i probably eat 10-15% more calories than what i think i do
  • ironanimal
    ironanimal Posts: 5,922 Member
    I've found certain chocolate bars contain absolutely no sugar.
  • HeaderAutumn
    HeaderAutumn Posts: 119 Member
    I wish that when you confirm the nutrition on a product it would store in a foods section or something. So even when you don't eat something everyday you have an easy way to quickly add it knowing it is correct
  • sarah44254
    sarah44254 Posts: 3,078 Member
    I'm actually more concerned about the macros I am eating than the calories, so I've tried to correct the many inaccurate entries I've found.

    Thank you for the heads up to those who may not have known.
  • 4schrocks
    4schrocks Posts: 42 Member
    I scan the bar code labels as much as I can with my smartphone. Makes for better accuracy.

    I too like to use the barcode but check that too.....Crazy thing happened earlier this week. I scanned the barcode on my ground coffee and I kid you not it came up with some sort of shake (Probably made with that coffee) that was like 245 cals for a cup. I about panicked and threw my newly bought coffee away until I figured out something was WAY off! :laugh:
  • Muscles_Curves
    Muscles_Curves Posts: 385 Member
    I scan the bar code labels as much as I can with my smartphone. Makes for better accuracy.

    DITTO
  • gatorento
    gatorento Posts: 79 Member
    i recently found one for guerrero small corn tortilas. the database says a serving size is 3 tortillas but the package says 2 is the serving size.

    i ty to pay attention but in general my assumption is that i probably eat 10-15% more calories than what i think i do


    Probably a safe assumption for most of us!
  • invisibubble
    invisibubble Posts: 662 Member
    I always check. Most people get sodium wrong, they see it as 0.2g and put it in the database as 0.2mg when it should be 200mg. And some barcodes come up with crazy random stuff lol
  • tlblood
    tlblood Posts: 473 Member
    I scan the bar code labels as much as I can with my smartphone. Makes for better accuracy.

    This isn't actually always true! About half the time I scan, what comes up does not match the nutrition label.
  • tlblood
    tlblood Posts: 473 Member
    Anything with a nutrition label, I always double check. I often confirm the ones I see that are right and edit the ones I find that are wrong.

    My only problem is produce...those don't come with nutritional info, so I rely on what's already here. Any ideas on where we can confirm?
  • lassisar
    lassisar Posts: 14 Member
    Right now, if you look up strawberries, 1 cup is 49 calories. 2 cups is 49 calories, and a half a cup is 39 calories. I honestly have no idea which one is right. But a basic raw fruit should be accurate in the database.

    Thanks to everyone who takes the time to verify and correct!
  • lassisar
    lassisar Posts: 14 Member
    I scan the bar code labels as much as I can with my smartphone. Makes for better accuracy.

    This isn't actually always true! About half the time I scan, what comes up does not match the nutrition label.

    I'm getting what I scan more than half the time, but errors are out there.
  • invisibubble
    invisibubble Posts: 662 Member
    Right now, if you look up strawberries, 1 cup is 49 calories. 2 cups is 49 calories, and a half a cup is 39 calories. I honestly have no idea which one is right. But a basic raw fruit should be accurate in the database.

    Thanks to everyone who takes the time to verify and correct!
    there are some things that don't have a star by them in the database. They seem to be "true" ones. Like if you look up "table salt", and scroll until you reach "spices, salt, table" that one won't be member submitted.
  • kristinacottle
    kristinacottle Posts: 52
    Right now, if you look up strawberries, 1 cup is 49 calories. 2 cups is 49 calories, and a half a cup is 39 calories. I honestly have no idea which one is right. But a basic raw fruit should be accurate in the database.

    Thanks to everyone who takes the time to verify and correct!

    I buy whole frozen strawberries and the bag says 1 cup is 50 calories. It obviously won't change if they're thawed. Just if you actually wanted to know lol!! :happy:
  • ldrosophila
    ldrosophila Posts: 7,512 Member
    I always look for the ones with higher confirmations.

    ^^^^This.

    I need to start using the bar code scanner a lot more too
  • Denjo060
    Denjo060 Posts: 1,008
    Thanks for posting I put in something the other day and it said no sodium I knew that was not right especial since it was lunch meat
  • MyM0wM0w
    MyM0wM0w Posts: 2,008 Member
    Absolutely! Tonight I was scoping out to see if I could fit spaghetti and meatballs into my night. One of the spaghetti and meatballs heading said it was 4 carbs for one cup.

    Wut? More like 40....... at least.
  • Shelgirl001
    Shelgirl001 Posts: 477 Member
    I found one that was inaccurate in the exercise section for treadmill walking for an hour. Compared to what my Mom's really good treadmill said on the calories burned the system said around 2 times as many as the treadmill said. The treadmill said approx. 320 and the system said approx 600, if I recall correctly.
  • tlblood
    tlblood Posts: 473 Member
    I found one that was inaccurate in the exercise section for treadmill walking for an hour. Compared to what my Mom's really good treadmill said on the calories burned the system said around 2 times as many as the treadmill said. The treadmill said approx. 320 and the system said approx 600, if I recall correctly.

    This is why I use a HRM. No system that isn't hooked up to your body will be accurate for calorie burn.
  • Mellie289
    Mellie289 Posts: 1,191 Member
    Just entered rotisserie chicken breast (without skin) in my diary for dinner tonight and saw this issue.

    Tried two different entries in the database, both for 4 oz. chicken. First one gave me 33 calories. I KNEW that couldn't possibly be correct. Second one gave 168 calories, which I could confirm from another source.

    It's crazy how huge a difference is in the database for that.
  • Agator82
    Agator82 Posts: 249 Member
    I hear that. I typically check and if it is something that I get routinely I will actually add it as my own food.. There should be a way for the MFP community to thin the database a little otherwise it might become too cumbersome in time. I still can't figure out why I get a Diet Coke with 5 calories when I search for 21 oz Diet Coke.
  • LastMinuteMama
    LastMinuteMama Posts: 590 Member
    I scan the bar code labels as much as I can with my smartphone. Makes for better accuracy.

    I thought that too...but when I scanned in Hood Ice Cream recently, it came up as chicken breast??? Crazy but true. So,double check what you scan with your phone as well. I've noticed a few other discrepancies, but the ice cream/chicken was definitely the most bizarre and way off one so far!
  • wackyfunster
    wackyfunster Posts: 944 Member
    Wait, you mean that 4 slices of chocolate cake isn't really 80 calories? MFP HAS BETRAYED ME :<<<<<<<<<

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