Food Database

mlnelson1018
mlnelson1018 Posts: 4
edited November 10 in Food and Nutrition
I'm new here so I'm sorry if I'm missing something obvious, but how come so much of the food database is from members? I don't want to offend anyone, but I would rather the database be from MFP or the government or some source, just in case something is entered wrong.

Replies

  • taso42
    taso42 Posts: 8,980 Member
    The size of the food db is one of their main selling points, and at the same time a big nuisance.

    The items that do not have the asterisk (*) next to them are the system items (non-user-entered). Those are usually pretty reliable. Unfortunately, there is no way to limit the search to only system items. You just have to scan through visually to find the non-asterisk ones.
  • Cal28
    Cal28 Posts: 514 Member
    Just check against the packaging, once you've used them a few times you'll build up a bank under your recently used foods/meals etc... x
  • AussieMisfit
    AussieMisfit Posts: 78 Member
    You can check for confirmations. If a few other members say it's correct chances are it is.
  • RAFValentina
    RAFValentina Posts: 1,231 Member
    MFP is a free website... can you imagine someone finding EVERY product and entering its nutritional value into the database and updating every single one every time they got updated?!

    No-one will do that for free... It relies heavily on user input...you can correct incorrect values or just add your own in and keep it in "your" foods.

    Most staple products are as accurate as they can be from nutritional labels, but the reason there is discrepancy is that nutritional info can be labelled up to 20% out legally in either direction.

    For anything that doesn't match up with the data I expect, I add in myself, change or adjust accordingly.
  • twiztedgrl69
    twiztedgrl69 Posts: 191 Member
    if you use the phone app, you can also scan the barcode to add the food
  • Cal28
    Cal28 Posts: 514 Member
    if you use the phone app, you can also scan the barcode to add the food

    This isn't always correct though, always check! x
  • junyr
    junyr Posts: 416 Member
    if you use the phone app, you can also scan the barcode to add the food

    This isn't always correct though, always check! x

    Sometimes mine misscans the barcode and it displays a completely different food than I scanned. A second scan usually gets it right. Also, some foods are not exact, but close enough. Like some generic tuna can might display as chicken of the sea... close enough for me.
  • Cal28
    Cal28 Posts: 514 Member
    I've found some stuff scans quite differently.

    ie Pizza from Woolworths - Australia scans as Pizza from Tesco - UK (theoretically fine but a look at the calories shows a HUGE difference)

    I found the same for some marinated Lamb last night...

    Its a fabulous app for free though. Just make sure you save your regular meals/recipes so you have the correct items. Like every diet it just takes a while to get going initially and iron out a few things. I'd rather put up with that than pay $20+ a month. x
  • Kymmu
    Kymmu Posts: 1,650 Member
    i often find thing that are wrong like a meat product that has no protein value for example. I think some people just put in cals, without concerning themselves with the other macros they aren't interested in.
    Be aware, you can't live right down to the wire on the values! It's not a bad guide though.
    ( same goes for exercise values)
  • mlnelson1018
    mlnelson1018 Posts: 4
    Thanks for the replies! I was just getting frustrated because I didn't have the NI for something I ate and when I looked it up in the database, everything was member input. There were so many different portion sizes, and none of them were for the amount that I ate. I couldn't change the size of the portion either, because it only had "serving" listed. I'm new here and used to use Spark People. Most of their database is from a government database and is so easy to use. I switched to MFP at the suggestion of my healthcare provider, so I'm having a hard time getting used to it.
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