Nutrition facts

I was wondering if anybody knew...but do food nutrition facts change every month, few months, year etc? Or is it different based on region? Whenever I log, I feel like I am a crazy person and am scrolling through to find one that is correct. I am assuming it must have been correct at one point in time. I have a lot of assumptions but I was wondering if anybody knows why.

Replies

  • EvanKeel
    EvanKeel Posts: 1,904 Member
    Most (if not all) the entries you're looking at are being entered by users. They may be wrong, or the products may have changed. So you're not crazy. You just kind of have to make sure the entries are accurate as best as you can.
  • Vain_Witch
    Vain_Witch Posts: 476 Member
    Do you mean the MFP food nutrition facts? If so, remember that a lot of the entries in here were entered by MFP members and can be innacurate. You're always best off finding entries that have a number of "confirmation" or double checking it online to see if it's accurate.
  • AmyRhubarb
    AmyRhubarb Posts: 6,890 Member
    I always double check, because the companies do change things from time to time, and for the human error factor - they aren't always entered correctly, or people change the serving size to suit their own needs.
  • I have been double checking too. I didn't think about people putting them in to fit their own servings. I did think that some recipes may have changed and so the nutrition facts do. Thanks everyone, That does help out. :smile:
  • maa59115
    maa59115 Posts: 29 Member
    If it's something you use often I would just enter it in the database so you know that it's 100% correct.
  • I usually do but I was just curious of the change.
  • now_or_never13
    now_or_never13 Posts: 1,575 Member
    The majority of entries in the database are entered by users on this website. There are people here that are from areas all over the world. Nutrition facts can be different depending on where you live even for something of the same type, and serving size. I have some products where I am (Canada) that are higher/lower in cals for example than some of the same products in the US... weird!

    Some of the serving sizes aren't the same as well. All things you need to look out for. Best thing would be to compare your label to the database. Also, some users only pay attention to calories so when they enter a food they only enter cals and not the rest of the macros/micros. Some people also don't double check what they enter so some numbers may be wrong due to that.

    A great help would be if you have this app on a smartphone as you can scan the barcode of whatever it is that you are using. That should bring up the most accurate calorie count and makes it easier than trying to sort through all the entries.
  • MsLilly200
    MsLilly200 Posts: 192 Member
    I know that a Big Mac in Sweden is 510 calories now, it used to be 495. As far as I can tell from the MFP entries it's 550 in the US.

    So yeah, nutrition facts change.
  • MartinaNYC
    MartinaNYC Posts: 190 Member
    I usually triple-check because most of the food is entered by users and no offense to anybody, but sometimes people would put 150cal for a slice of chocolate cake to feel less guilty! I usually scan barcodes with my phone or search for instance "ham Trader Joe's" since I bought the ham there.
  • I like the scanning the barcode idea, i am going to have to do that.

    I forget that people are here from all around the world and things are different everywhere! Thanks for the helpful answers!
  • MsLilly200
    MsLilly200 Posts: 192 Member
    I usually triple-check because most of the food is entered by users and no offense to anybody, but sometimes people would put 150cal for a slice of chocolate cake to feel less guilty! I usually scan barcodes with my phone or search for instance "ham Trader Joe's" since I bought the ham there.

    Sometimes people set 150 calories for a slice of cake cause they always cut tiiiny slices... And maybe it's a homemade low calorie cake.
    That's why I always weigh my food and use the recipe maker here whenever I bake or cook something big.
  • savithny
    savithny Posts: 1,200 Member
    I usually triple-check because most of the food is entered by users and no offense to anybody, but sometimes people would put 150cal for a slice of chocolate cake to feel less guilty! I usually scan barcodes with my phone or search for instance "ham Trader Joe's" since I bought the ham there.

    Sometimes people set 150 calories for a slice of cake cause they always cut tiiiny slices... And maybe it's a homemade low calorie cake.
    That's why I always weigh my food and use the recipe maker here whenever I bake or cook something big.

    Exactly - - its why you can't just pick the first thing off the list that turns up.

    I made my kid's cake. It was really, really rich - so we cut the wedges really, really small for the kids. It really was only about 150 calories per slice, even though it wasn't even a low-cal cake. portion size is key in using the database.
  • kaseysospacey
    kaseysospacey Posts: 499 Member
    if im really unsure i will google it. I tend to just compare the listing to the label or look for the most upvotes if I can only do that.