Can't be right? Can it?

CaseyJ0
CaseyJ0 Posts: 13 Member
edited November 2024 in Food and Nutrition
Today I went to Target and was going to buy a pre made salad. When I scanned the barcode and saw it was going to be over 700 calories, I changed my mind. So then I scanned the code on an Archer Farms buffalo chicken wrap, and it came up at about 400 calories and 5 grams of fat. That sounded like a better alternative... Until I started thinking about it. How can that possibly be correct? I scanned the chicken Caesar wrap and that was 700 calories. The buffalo wrap has crispy chicken, blue cheese crumbles, ranch dressing... All high calorie and high fat stuff. When I entered in my guess at the recipe, it came up to at least double what the scanner was telling me. I looked several places online, and everywhere has the same info I found on mfp. Another big problem is that it doesn't give a portion size in grams, just "1 wrap". I'm thinking maybe its assuming a half a wrap. Either way... I logged it based on my version of the recipe ( much higher in calories), just to be on the safe side. But where does mfp get the nutritional info from when scanning a barcode? Is it from the manufacturer? Could it be wrong? I tried finding a link to archer farms directly but had no luck. Any input would be appreciated. I'm feeling duped. Lol.

Replies

  • queenliz99
    queenliz99 Posts: 15,317 Member
    A lot of the database in MFP is wrong. Some of it comes from entries by other users. Take everything with a grain of salt. Use recipe builder and use your best judgement with ingredients when entering pre-made foods. The longer you are on here the better you get at it.
  • CaseyJ0
    CaseyJ0 Posts: 13 Member
    So it can be from a user even though I scanned a barcode?
  • kalamitykate83
    kalamitykate83 Posts: 227 Member
    I think if the details have been put in my a user, there's a star next to it.

    Ceaser dressing is so so high, so it's not surprising tbh! Ceaser salad is not a good option, even though it's a 'salad'!
  • CaseyJ0
    CaseyJ0 Posts: 13 Member
    Oh I know! The Caesar wrap sounded correct. It's the buffalo wrap that sounded way too low to me.
  • CaseyJ0
    CaseyJ0 Posts: 13 Member
    Thanks, I'm going to look for the star.
  • CaseyJ0
    CaseyJ0 Posts: 13 Member
    Yes indeed... They all have stars! I'm surprised that it came up with the bar code scanner then. Hmmm. Interesting. And a bummer. I thought I was pretty safe when I scanned things that they'd be accurate! That stinks.
  • kalamitykate83
    kalamitykate83 Posts: 227 Member
    Yeah you have to be careful, as some put in the calories but miss out the fats etc so definitely keep an eye on what you scan etc!
  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,371 Member
    Double check with the nutrition label but it does sound pretty hard to believe.
  • CaseyJ0
    CaseyJ0 Posts: 13 Member
    The label doesn't have nutrition info, just ingredients!
  • CaseyJ0
    CaseyJ0 Posts: 13 Member
    I'm aggravated now bc I was thinking I was going to be able to eat the whole thing... But once I realized it couldn't be correct, I only allowed myself half. Now I'm hungry! Lol
  • amunet07
    amunet07 Posts: 1,245 Member
    Bummer! I was hoping the scanning was more accurate also.
  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,371 Member
    Ok the people who entered that stuff must be delusional, lol.
  • 3laine75
    3laine75 Posts: 3,069 Member
    I had this today, using a barcode, too. Apparently half a donut is a serving. Their serving size is probably something ridiculous, for the wrap.
  • INjerry
    INjerry Posts: 3 Member
    I just realized today how untrustworthy the MFP nutritionals are. Came to light when deciding my grilled salmon serving size for dinner. One item: grilled Atlantic salmon, no seasoning or added fats or added anything! Calorie counts in MFP ranged from 50-ish calories per ounce (about right, per several other sources) to about 120. That's a range of 400 to 960 calories for an 8-oz serving. Call me skeptical from now on.
  • CaseyJ0
    CaseyJ0 Posts: 13 Member
    Francl27- I know, right? I think I jumped for joy for a second when I first thought it was so low cal, didn't dawn on me till I bought it that it had to be !

    INjerry- type USDA after your salmon or other meats for accurate info, uncooked usually.

    I generally get all my calorie counts straight from package info, and when I cook, I calculate each ingredient into the recipe. If I eat at a restaurant, ive only been going to places that have nutritional info online. I rarely search for things on here, except for meats and produce, and then ive been using the usda calories.

    Today was the exception because it didnt have calories listed so I assumed I could trust the bar code scanner. Didnt realize bar codes could lead me to someone randoms calorie calculations. Live and learn I guess.

    On a positive note, today makes a solid month that I've been meticulously logging my food, and im getting better and better at it. Results are starting to show. Just gotta keep it up.

    Thanks for all the feedback everyone.
  • MaryCS62
    MaryCS62 Posts: 266 Member
    This morning, I scanned my Maple Grove Farms sugar free syrup, which, according to the back of the bottle, is 30 cal for 60 ml (2 fl. oz). It showed up as 15 cal instead. I went to the desktop site & manually edited the entry. Not all are correct, even when you scan the barcode, so you do have to be careful
  • CaseyJ0
    CaseyJ0 Posts: 13 Member
    Mary, yes. You are right. I have noticed that a couple times ive scanned things and.they didnt match exactly what it said on back of package. .. I always check that. :wink:
  • missiontofitness
    missiontofitness Posts: 4,059 Member
    CaseyJ0 wrote: »
    Oh I know! The Caesar wrap sounded correct. It's the buffalo wrap that sounded way too low to me.

    I have a buffalo salad I like to get at the cafeteria at work when I forget my lunch. The calories are super high on it (500-600 for one salad), but you also have to factor in user error as well. I tend to only log 1/2 to 3/4 of the salad, because even though it uses full fat blue cheese, bacon, and chicken breast, the portions of each are tiny, and 2/3 of the container is full of iceburg and spring mix lettuce. Even when I use full fat blue cheese on my salads, the calories are pretty low per 1oz serving. I would see how heavy those wraps are in the future (weigh it at home if you have the chance, if there's no info on it like you said above), and make a judgment call in regards to the calories potentially being slightly off, especially if it is an item that is made in store and has a wrapper put on it afterwards. User error can affect the calorie content of an item.
  • annaheyoolay
    annaheyoolay Posts: 100 Member
    I just noticed that when using the mfp android app, stars don't appear by the user submitted foods :( Only when on the website.
  • Eudoxy
    Eudoxy Posts: 391 Member
    That is the info on the nutrition label of those archer buffalo wraps. I thought it was gross for some reason, I usually love buffalo chicken. They just give you that weird sauce. The Caesar one is good. And has dressing.
  • INjerry
    INjerry Posts: 3 Member
    Thanks, CaseyJO, I'll try the USDA tip. Others: when the label-scanned nutritional info doesn't match the label, is the scan always the one that's wrong?
  • INjerry
    INjerry Posts: 3 Member
    Ok, I tried it. The grilled salmon entries that contain usda in their descriptions also have asterisks. First one said 321 calories for 8 oz, second one said 491. Still disappointed with reliability of member-logged nutritionals. Creating my own library. Thanks, all! Congrats on your progress, CaseyJO!
  • Wiseandcurious
    Wiseandcurious Posts: 730 Member
    I know how frustrating it is when you first find out about user submitted entries and I also use the app. It does get better with time. If I scan, I always double-check the label for serving size, protein cals etc, and sadly I do find mistakes, but once you log something with the correct information it stays in your frequent or recent foods. I mostly cook so use USDA entries and the first time I log an ingredient, check with the USDA website itself, then just consult my frequent foods.

    As a tip to find better USDA info submitted by users, look for entries that have the USDA number code - I usually find those are correct (not sure if they are user submitted or no but when I have to create an entry based on USDA that's what I do too, copy the number code as an indication that it's a correct entry).
  • lemurcat12
    lemurcat12 Posts: 30,886 Member
    If you are cooking with whole foods, the trick is just to use the USDA entries that MFP has in there or, at least, USDA entries that others put in with lots of confirmations (or confirm them yourself).

    For something like salmon you can find the right one with fish-salmon raw (although then pick the right kind of salmon from the options). The best entries have no asterisks. As an added bonus, those entries have lots of measurement options including always my preferred 100 grams.
  • earlnabby
    earlnabby Posts: 8,171 Member
    CaseyJ0 wrote: »
    Thanks, I'm going to look for the star.

    Don't automatically discount something with the star. Look for confirmations. Many user entered items have info taken directly off the manufacturers label, then other users buy the same thing and confirm that the info is correct by comparing their labels with the database info. My general rule is to not use an entry that has less than 5 confirmations. Some have upwards of 50 or more!

  • StephanitelyD
    StephanitelyD Posts: 2
    I try to scan most of my stuff if I'm on the go, but do a double check for it when I get home and can do more research on my laptop. A lot of times if I don't have the packaging in front of me, when I get home, I look to see if there are pictures of the nutrition info - I just google the image. That way I can see if the nutrition label and my entry on MFP are jiving.

    Something to remember if you DO accidentally go over is that our metabolisms aren't on a 24 hour schedule like MFP is. If you make a mistake in calculating something you can make up for it the next day by reducing calories to make up for the overage. Depending on how fast your metabolism is, and how many calories you went over, you can even make up for the overage over two days. So if on Monday you went over your goal by 300 calories, and don't have the option of exercising it off that day, you can reduce your overall Tuesday calories by 150 and then the same amount on Wednesday.

    Anyways, just my two cents' worth. :)
  • obscuremusicreference
    obscuremusicreference Posts: 1,320 Member
    Insane, when you google it there's everything from 680 to 425.

    Personally, I will check the entry against the package (or write down the calories/sodium if I don't have my phone--if those are right, everything else probably is too). There are probably more good user-generated ones than bad.
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