Data base- seeing wrong calorie counts

rebelq
rebelq Posts: 64 Member
edited November 7 in Health and Weight Loss
So, now I'm nervous! I thought a calorie count for a food was low, so I checked the package with the data base. There were 4 or 5 entries that were all wrong. Using the package, I went in and edited a few to the correct cal., fat, etc. But now Im thinking I should check more often... Hoping this was an isolated thing.?

Replies

  • 365andstillalive
    365andstillalive Posts: 663 Member
    It's not, so you should always double check based on the package.
    Also, different countries have different formulas/portion sizes for foods, which means that it might not match the food you have for that reason as well.
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  • beckyboop712
    beckyboop712 Posts: 383 Member
    Also, it helps to use the barcode scanner on the smartphone app. You'll get more accurate calorie counts that way.
  • shadow2soul
    shadow2soul Posts: 7,692 Member
    Also, different countries have different formulas/portion sizes for foods, which means that it might not match the food you have for that reason as well.

    Yep. This is why I don't edit entries. For all I know I'm making the information that was for another country than I live incorrect for them. Example:

    Big Mac USA - 530 cals
    Big Mac UK - 490 cals
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  • simplydelish2
    simplydelish2 Posts: 726 Member
    The MFP food database is unreliable - even with many "confirmations" on a product. Several reasons - remember that manufacturers change ingredients and serving sizes and thus the numbers on the package change - but the MFP database remains the same; different countries have different rules regarding nutrition labels - in the US the calorie counts can vary as much as 20% without catching the eye of the FDA.

    Always go by the calories that are listed on the current package...and even then beware you may be consuming more than you think.
  • shadow2soul
    shadow2soul Posts: 7,692 Member
    Also, it helps to use the barcode scanner on the smartphone app. You'll get more accurate calorie counts that way.

    Not always. I scanned tortillas once and it came back with jalapeno.
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  • heybales
    heybales Posts: 18,842 Member
    Also, it helps to use the barcode scanner on the smartphone app. You'll get more accurate calorie counts that way.

    Actually not any more.

    Vast majority of manufacturers keep the same scan code but "reformulate" the recipe. Which is code for resized, usually smaller.
    Though they'll also mess with less fat more carbs if that is the fad, less sodium, ect.

    MFP glory possession has been ruined because they don't make it easier to correct things, and originally the search was terrible.

    Idiots would put in some full blown text of the entire front of the package to search for - obviously all those words weren't found - so they'd make their own entry with them.
    Now you search on subset of words like you should, and you find all this crap out there.
    "New and Improved less Sodium Green Giant Steamers Now in Family Size Vegetable Medley with broccoli, carrots, cauliflower in garlic sauce"
    Good grief, who in the world ever learned to search like that!

    I think MFP finally went for closest match no matter how many words you type in, and get list from close to where did that come from.
  • GertrudeHorse
    GertrudeHorse Posts: 646 Member
    My favorites are when for a serving it says, "bowl". Lol. Or "scoop". Freaking idiots.

    This actually drives me insane whenever I see it. The only time I would ever have "1 serving" as the measurement is when I've created the recipe myself. But obvs that doesn't get added to the main database. But, yeah, this is one of my pet peeves. Worse than when someone mixes up loose and lose :explode:
  • zoeysasha37
    zoeysasha37 Posts: 7,088 Member
    Happens to me all the time. unfortunately, there is tons of incorrect entries here
  • countscalories
    countscalories Posts: 418 Member
    For many items, I usually look on the food manufacturers' websites for the "correct" information, and compare it to the data from MFP. Sometimes it takes a few attempts to find matching counts on the database, but getting thinner is worth whatever effort I have to put forth. The "my foods" section comes in handy, too!
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  • GertrudeHorse
    GertrudeHorse Posts: 646 Member
    My favorites are when for a serving it says, "bowl". Lol. Or "scoop". Freaking idiots.

    This actually drives me insane whenever I see it. The only time I would ever have "1 serving" as the measurement is when I've created the recipe myself. But obvs that doesn't get added to the main database. But, yeah, this is one of my pet peeves. Worse than when someone mixes up loose and lose :explode:
    Whoa!!!! Chill. Don't loose your cool. Ur gonna go cray cray.

    Ha, don't worry. I'm calm for now....until I have my Ned Flanders moment.
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  • fatcity66
    fatcity66 Posts: 1,544 Member
    My favorites are when for a serving it says, "bowl". Lol. Or "scoop". Freaking idiots.

    This actually drives me insane whenever I see it. The only time I would ever have "1 serving" as the measurement is when I've created the recipe myself. But obvs that doesn't get added to the main database. But, yeah, this is one of my pet peeves. Worse than when someone mixes up loose and lose :explode:
    Whoa!!!! Chill. Don't loose your cool. Ur gonna go cray cray.

    Lose and loose is a big pet peeve of mine. *stompy stomp*
  • RodaRose
    RodaRose Posts: 9,562 Member
    My favorites are when for a serving it says, "bowl". Lol. Or "scoop". Freaking idiots.

    This actually drives me insane whenever I see it. The only time I would ever have "1 serving" as the measurement is when I've created the recipe myself. But obvs that doesn't get added to the main database. But, yeah, this is one of my pet peeves. Worse than when someone mixes up loose and lose :explode:
    Whoa!!!! Chill. Don't loose your cool. Ur gonna go cray cray.

    Lose and loose is a big pet peeve of mine. *stompy stomp*

    There are lots of people typing with English as their second or third language.
    Thank goodness people are patient with each other.
  • KyleT76
    KyleT76 Posts: 1
    edited January 2015
    When searching the food database, I am able to find the product I want to add to my food diary with the nutrition information that matches the package I bought. However, when I use the search to add the product to my food diary, the listing I found in the database does not come up as an option! Example: Aunt Millie's Big and Fluffy Hawaiian Dinner Rolls http://www.auntmillies.com/products/rolls/4399 at 140 calories per roll. When I put those words in the search box to add it to my food diary, it shows another listing for the product as "Aunt Millie's - Big & Fluffy Hawaiian Dinner Roll" with 80 calories per roll and does not show the choice for "Big AND Fluffy".

    Clicking on the item in my food diary only lets me correct the number of servings and doesn't let me edit the nutrition info. I wish MFP would let us add products directly from the food database search OR show the calorie info when we do our food searches so we can match the info to the product we have!

    (Updated - duh...I now see how to find the nutritional info for the choices when doing a search via food diary and how to edit it. But this doesn't address the problem of how to add an existing listing for a product when it doesn't show up in the search results for the food diary even though it shows up in the search results for the food database).
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