Calorie counts

Options
Sherylnow
Sherylnow Posts: 2 Member
in Food and Nutrition
I am wondering about the calorie counts for foods since it appears anyone can add a food to the database. How do we know if they are close to accurate? Thoughts?

Replies

  • lynn_glenmont
    lynn_glenmont Posts: 10,020 Member
    Options
    Compare the database entry to the package label or, for whole foods that don't have package labels, compare to a reputable source like the USDA nutrient database.

    https://ndb.nal.usda.gov/ndb/search/list
  • funjen1972
    funjen1972 Posts: 949 Member
    Options
    Another thing that helps is the green checks next to the entry. I find those most reliable.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,867 Member
    Options
    Sherylnow wrote: »
    I am wondering about the calorie counts for foods since it appears anyone can add a food to the database. How do we know if they are close to accurate? Thoughts?

    For individual items you can check against the packaging or to the USDA website for things like meat, veggies, etc.

    If you're talking about generic entries like "chicken soup" or "lasagna"...you can't know and should be using the recipe builder in those instances to create your own.
  • funjen1972
    funjen1972 Posts: 949 Member
    Options
    TavistockToad wrote: »
    funjen1972 wrote: »
    Another thing that helps is the green checks next to the entry. I find those most reliable.

    They really arent!!!

    Still need to compare, for sure. How does an entry get bestowed with a green check anyway?
  • DoubleUbea
    DoubleUbea Posts: 1,115 Member
    Options
    When enough people say it is good it gets a green check. If the people don't actually check for accuracy but say it is good it cane be off. I have come across a few green checks that have been off.
  • heybales
    heybales Posts: 18,842 Member
    Options
    funjen1972 wrote: »
    TavistockToad wrote: »
    funjen1972 wrote: »
    Another thing that helps is the green checks next to the entry. I find those most reliable.

    They really arent!!!

    Still need to compare, for sure. How does an entry get bestowed with a green check anyway?

    It may have been accurate at one time, based on popular opinion.
    But just as sloppy people make bad entries, lazy people give a confirm without reading well.

    Also, I've found most SKU's are kept despite a product's serving size change, change of ingredients, ect - all things that change the nutrition label.
    Making the Validated entry incorrect now.
    Not sure how those ever get corrected.
  • SunshineChristmasCat
    SunshineChristmasCat Posts: 8 Member
    Options
    I'm just starting out trying to log and it's not very pleasant. Thousands of entries and all incorrect. At first I thought it was on purpose. Now I think that people confirm it as right because they read one thing - like the calories or protein and see that is correct, but don't bother checking that the rest is incorrect. But worse is that just trying to get chicken or strawberries all of the entries contradict each other as far as calories. For now I am finding the closest and/or entering my own, but if there is a program with a completely accurate database I would love to know about that. For now, I'm mainly going with the USDA list.
  • heybales
    heybales Posts: 18,842 Member
    Options
    SunshineChristmasCat wrote: »
    I'm just starting out trying to log and it's not very pleasant. Thousands of entries and all incorrect. At first I thought it was on purpose. Now I think that people confirm it as right because they read one thing - like the calories or protein and see that is correct, but don't bother checking that the rest is incorrect. But worse is that just trying to get chicken or strawberries all of the entries contradict each other as far as calories. For now I am finding the closest and/or entering my own, but if there is a program with a completely accurate database I would love to know about that. For now, I'm mainly going with the USDA list.

    Will never be total accuracy - not without a hefty charge to pay employees to keep it up.

    Besides which - nutrition labels are allowed to have rounding as long as it's within 5% of tested or added ingredients of standard tested food.

    Those strawberries depending on ripeness will change too - that's about impossible to anticipate and have accurate.

    All of it is basically like dosage of meds and effectiveness.

    If small amount of strawberries weekly - who cares if it's even 50% wrong.

    If you do oatmeal every morning and it's 30% of daily calories - now it matters if you are like weighing comparing to measuring.

    And that frankly will matter more than differences in label info, the 10-20% incorrect serving size.

Categories