Buying Foods With Correct Barcodes

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geminigarcia199017
geminigarcia199017 Posts: 529 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
So from now on I am only buying foods that have the correct nutrition information,no more guessing!!! My next aim is to log foods as accurately as possible!!
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  • seska422
    seska422 Posts: 3,217 Member
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    Scanning bar codes isn't a guarantee that the database information is correct. The nutritional information associated with that barcode has likely been entered by another MFP user. You still need to double-check that it matches what it says on your box.

    Companies occasionally change their info so it's always a good idea to double-check against the box anyway.
  • Ready2Rock206
    Ready2Rock206 Posts: 9,488 Member
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    So no fresh foods? No fresh fruits or vegetables?
  • choppie70
    choppie70 Posts: 544 Member
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    Also, if you are using the packaging to measure your "portion", your calories will be off. There is a certain percentage of error for the labeling. So, if you are eating two slices of bread and listing it as two servings (according to the label) you may be eating more like 2.3 servings according to the weight.
  • yarwell
    yarwell Posts: 10,477 Member
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    choppie70 wrote: »
    Also, if you are using the packaging to measure your "portion", your calories will be off. There is a certain percentage of error for the labeling. So, if you are eating two slices of bread and listing it as two servings (according to the label) you may be eating more like 2.3 servings according to the weight.

    you may also be eating 1.7 portions by the same logic. If you were a food manufacturer would you systematically put more product in the pack than the stated weight, increasing your costs ?
  • choppie70
    choppie70 Posts: 544 Member
    edited March 2016
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    yarwell wrote: »
    choppie70 wrote: »
    Also, if you are using the packaging to measure your "portion", your calories will be off. There is a certain percentage of error for the labeling. So, if you are eating two slices of bread and listing it as two servings (according to the label) you may be eating more like 2.3 servings according to the weight.

    you may also be eating 1.7 portions by the same logic. If you were a food manufacturer would you systematically put more product in the pack than the stated weight, increasing your costs ?

    True, but the OP is complaining in post after post about not losing weight, and commenting on how they want to become more accurate. My post was to point out that using barcodes is not an accurate way to measure your calories.


    Also, I don't believe the word "systematically" fits. Manufacturers don't sit around and say "Hey, let's make the slices of bread a bit bigger and give the consumer a bit more food!" It is more mechanical error and human error, not a conscious decision which the word systematic implies.
  • zoeysasha37
    zoeysasha37 Posts: 7,089 Member
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    Barcode scanning isn't always accurate

    Get yourself a food scale and weigh your foods
  • MommyL2015
    MommyL2015 Posts: 1,411 Member
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    What you need to do if you want to be as accurate as possible is get a food scale and weigh out the serving size according to the package. Barcodes won't guarantee accuracy but a scale will. A barcode will tell you how many calories per serving, but in order to make sure you're eating a correct serving portion, a scale is necessary, otherwise you're still guessing.
  • diannethegeek
    diannethegeek Posts: 14,776 Member
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    geminigarcia199017 wrote: »
    thorsmom01 wrote: »
    Barcode scanning isn't always accurate

    Get yourself a food scale and weigh your foods

    I have a food scale at home, but I measure my foods by scanning the barcode rather than weighing!

    I don't understand. How does your barcode scanner determine how much of a food you eat? Mine just pulls up the nutrition information and suggested serving size. It has no idea how much is actually in the package or how much I ate.
  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,371 Member
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    ... But why?

    I've been on MFP for 3 years and I've never scanned anything. It won't be accurate anyway as labels can be 30% off and most packaged foods are heavier than what the nutrition info says.

    Just look up the item in the database, and if there's no accurate entry, make one...
  • alyssagb1
    alyssagb1 Posts: 353 Member
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    Francl27 wrote: »
    ... But why?

    I've been on MFP for 3 years and I've never scanned anything. It won't be accurate anyway as labels can be 30% off and most packaged foods are heavier than what the nutrition info says.

    Just look up the item in the database, and if there's no accurate entry, make one...
    And how would you make one? By using the label that is supposedly 30% off? Many database entries are pretty spot on, many are not. Though I think it's probably more accurate to go by the label than to go by what someone enters manually. Also, where do you think the people who entered the info got their info? More than likely the label.
  • melonaulait
    melonaulait Posts: 769 Member
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    I've never scanned a single product, as I'm doing just fine with my food scale. The fresh produce isle will be your best friend. Even foods out of a packet you can throw on the scale and then find the most accurate entry of that product on MFP.
  • yarwell
    yarwell Posts: 10,477 Member
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    choppie70 wrote: »
    Also, I don't believe the word "systematically" fits. Manufacturers don't sit around and say "Hey, let's make the slices of bread a bit bigger and give the consumer a bit more food!" It is more mechanical error and human error, not a conscious decision which the word systematic implies.

    A systematic error is simply one with a non-zero mean, ie a bias. So if the rules are as loose as +/- 15% then the average error should be zero unless there was a systematic error leading to it being +10% on average.

  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,371 Member
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    alyssagb1 wrote: »
    Francl27 wrote: »
    ... But why?

    I've been on MFP for 3 years and I've never scanned anything. It won't be accurate anyway as labels can be 30% off and most packaged foods are heavier than what the nutrition info says.

    Just look up the item in the database, and if there's no accurate entry, make one...
    And how would you make one? By using the label that is supposedly 30% off? Many database entries are pretty spot on, many are not. Though I think it's probably more accurate to go by the label than to go by what someone enters manually. Also, where do you think the people who entered the info got their info? More than likely the label.

    Yeah but they read the label, they didn't scan it.

    Or you could, you know, scan the label, and take 2 seconds to modify it if it's not accurate. Kinda sounds easier than just buying things that scan correctly, no?
  • ktekc
    ktekc Posts: 879 Member
    edited March 2016
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    Scanning the barcode is fine. . just double check the info that comes up matches the package you scanned. Then it is your responsibility to weigh what you actually ate to log correctly. If something scans at 90 cal per serving and you dont weigh what you ate to make sure it was one serving how can you say you ate 90? Like my progresso light soups the label says 1 cup serving and 2 cups per can but when i weigh it the whole can is usually about 1.67 cups. Log what you actually eat not what the label says a serving is.

    edited to say i weigh in grams and convert back to cups to log but am not home at the moment and cant remember what the label says for grams lol
  • AskTracyAnnK28
    AskTracyAnnK28 Posts: 2,834 Member
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    ktekc wrote: »
    Scanning the barcode is fine. . just double check the info that comes up matches the package you scanned. Then it is your responsibility to weigh what you actually ate to log correctly. If something scans at 90 cal per serving and you dont weigh what you ate to make sure it was one serving how can you say you ate 90? Like my progresso light soups the label says 1 cup serving and 2 cups per can but when i weigh it the whole can is usually about 1.67 cups. Log what you actually eat not what the label says a serving is.

    ^^^ this. I scan the barcode then use the food scale to make sure my portion size is accurate. The only time I don't do that is when I'm eating something like a single-serving entre.

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