Incorrect calorie count

labellacv
labellacv Posts: 6 Member
in Food and Nutrition
Anyone else notice the numerous errors in the calorie counts of food. I just added Ben & Jerry's Pumpkin Cheesecake and had to add my own calorie info. Is it that people who are entering the calories manually & adding it to the database don't know how to read nutrition labels??
The container says there are only 260 calories per serving. 4 servings per container. So if you eat the entire container that is 260x4 = 1040 cals. Not 2,000 or 1080.

Replies

  • Brendajo510
    Brendajo510 Posts: 153
    It's hard to say why some of the information is incorrect. Sometimes though, nutritional information can change as the companies change recipes and/or serving sizes. I just always check a few nutritional facts and call it good if it matches. In some cases, other people might add information for additional stuff they put on it or take away but they don't label it in such a way. I figure it’s like Wikipedia, there are some people who can fact check but overall, it’s a database updated by people for free, it’s not going to be flawless.

    But I do understand how frustrating it can be.
  • schell81
    schell81 Posts: 187 Member
    It can also vary by country, I notice that many products here in Canada are different by 10, 20 or more calories than identical brands in the States.
  • Jorra
    Jorra Posts: 3,338 Member
    Containers can also be different sizes. I usually chalk most differences up to regional differences in products.
  • californiagirl2012
    californiagirl2012 Posts: 2,625 Member
    Anyone else notice the numerous errors in the calorie counts of food. I just added Ben & Jerry's Pumpkin Cheesecake and had to add my own calorie info. Is it that people who are entering the calories manually & adding it to the database don't know how to read nutrition labels??
    The container says there are only 260 calories per serving. 4 servings per container. So if you eat the entire container that is 260x4 = 1040 cals. Not 2,000 or 1080.

    Sometimes even the information on the label is not the accurate count either. If you measure the amount on the scale it can quite often be MORE because the companies can give you more food but not less. Most calorie counting it an estimate anyway, I know this freaks a lot of people out but when was needing to lose gsy I always over estimated 10-12% total for the day (ate that much less to be sure I was in a deficit).
  • jzrharv
    jzrharv Posts: 126 Member

    The container says there are only 260 calories per serving. 4 servings per container. So if you eat the entire container that is 260x4 = 1040 cals. Not 2,000 or 1080.

    Well, as we here in state service are wont to say, "Close enough for government work". A differential of 40 calories (1040 vs 1080) is not really that big of a deal. Most caloric values in the real world are estimates, some pretty close, others not so good. Now if the difference were >25%, I'd start looking for further data for cross-verification.
  • cube39
    cube39 Posts: 14 Member
    I've been using the UPC scan feature on my cell phone and the info on the UPC label sometimes does not even match what is printed on the package. So . . . who knows?
  • Pookie9922
    Pookie9922 Posts: 1 Member
    I was trying to buy chili this week and saw a new brand. I picked up two cans and was surprised that even though every single thing about the labels was exactly the same, the calorie content was different! One was 370 a serving and the other was 400. So weird! We scan almost everything and find that is more accurate than looking things up. I really wish the calories on exercises were more reliable too.
  • kenazfehu
    kenazfehu Posts: 1,188 Member
    Most of the time, what I'm looking up is right on the count. However, I looked up pork ribs awhile back, and it listed one serving as 878 calories. Yowzers! I think the serving size said "one piece". Must've been the entire rack of ribs!
  • DPernet
    DPernet Posts: 481 Member
    Most foods have the wrong sodium levels entered into MFP. People just can't understand the difference between grams and milligrams :ohwell:
  • DenyseMarieL
    DenyseMarieL Posts: 673 Member
    I don't panic over a 40 to 100 calorie difference. I think I burn more calories during the day than I log, due to just every day life. I didn't just burn calories when I walked for the 30 min on the treadmill.
  • jlapey
    jlapey Posts: 1,850 Member
    I hate the entries that say "one serving" as the serving size. Okay, great, but HOW BIG/SMALL IS A FREAKING SERVING? There's a good chance that my serving size and your serving size are not the same.
  • climbamnt
    climbamnt Posts: 190 Member
    It drives me crazy that they round up! If it is 1.5 grams of fat, they say 2! I guess its better to round up rather then down, but can they not calculate halves....
  • labellacv
    labellacv Posts: 6 Member
    :happy: I'm very OCD, so a variance of just 10 calories does drive me insane. LOL.
  • Koldnomore
    Koldnomore Posts: 1,613 Member
    I hate the entries that say "one serving" as the serving size. Okay, great, but HOW BIG/SMALL IS A FREAKING SERVING? There's a good chance that my serving size and your serving size are not the same.

    THIS drives me nuts!! especially when the weight is right there on the label! for the love of all that is good PLEASE put weights on your things if you are clicking the box to let other people use it - or better yet just don't click the box!
  • marsellient
    marsellient Posts: 591 Member
    It can be very frustrating, but once you've been here for awhile you use the database less and less and rely on the entries on your personal lists that you have already checked. I don't understand why people put the counts for their own recipes on the database, though. There's an option not to share the ones you enter. It's the same with "My Foods". Overall, this is absolutely the best database around and that's because people can add to it, so I think we have to take the great with the not so great and carry on.
  • neverstray
    neverstray Posts: 3,845 Member
    I was trying to enter some soup. After a while, I finally figured out what people were doing. There were multiple entries for the exact same soup. But it looked like everyone was entering the calories for the whole can of soup, not just one serving, which typically there is two servings in a can of soup. But, the kicker was, it was all over the map on the other nutritional information. They would put the sodium at the whole can level, but then other things like protein at the serving level.

    I just picture some dumb *kitten* in overalls and no teeth trying to do this, and it makes me laugh. You know, at the end of the day, you are responsible for the data you put in. It's nice that a database exists, but we have to check all the entries.

    I agree with others that this isn't just the USA, but there are other people from all over the world, and regional differences can change things too.
  • Jorra
    Jorra Posts: 3,338 Member
    :happy: I'm very OCD, so a variance of just 10 calories does drive me insane. LOL.

    I'm sorry if you do actually suffer from this debilitating illness.Otherwise, just remember that EVERYTHING is an estimate. You think every spoonful of soup has the exact same combination and concentration of ingredients? You think every cow produces beef with the exact same fat content? No. Variances happen and 10 calories is not going to make a lick of difference.

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