Barcod

vanmep
vanmep Posts: 410 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I saw a comment somewhere that the barcode scan is not necessarily an accurate reading of that food item, it is just a tool for looking through the database more quickly. Is that true? I have been taking it as god’s truth.

Replies

  • yirara
    yirara Posts: 9,941 Member
    Compare what comes up with the barcode scanner with the nutritional label. Then you know if it works or not. The database is largely entered by users, thus what comes up there is often wrong. Also, the weight of packaged items is often a lot higher than indicated on the package, meaning you eat more calories than you hoped for.
  • Lietchi
    Lietchi Posts: 6,826 Member
    edited April 2021
    It's not God's truth, it's just another way of searching the food database. I've gotten numerous faulty results using the barcode scanner:
    - simply the wrong food or a different brand
    - correct food and brand but wrong/incomplete nutritional info.
    It's a good idea to compare the food database entry with the food label.
  • goal06082021
    goal06082021 Posts: 2,130 Member
    Yeah, the barcode scanner is just searching the database, it's not downloading information from anywhere. You gotta check the label and weigh your portion.
  • MarziPanda95
    MarziPanda95 Posts: 1,326 Member
    edited April 2021
    Also worth noting that the nutritional information for a product often changes over time. So whilst the barcode may go to the correct product, it may be for an older version of that product, and the recipe has been changed since then. So always double check the results on the app with the nutritional label on the product.

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