How can I trust accuracy of food entries?

janarzooman
janarzooman Posts: 6
in Food and Nutrition
I had some House of Bazzini raw mixed nuts yesterday and saw that this brand was already in the data base, but the serving size weight was different than what was on the package. MFP data base--and the bar code scan I did with my Android--say there are 190 calories per ounce, but the package says 190 calories per 1.5 ounce serving.

I checked another calorie counter website to see if I could get a confirmation on the 190 calories per ounce. One site listed Archer Farms raw mixed nuts as containing 160 calories per ounce. Another site gives 168 calories per ounce (for generic raw mixed nuts). In both those cases it would appear that 1.5 ounces would contain 240 and 252 calories, respectively. I still might have chosen the snack had I known it was 240 rather than 190 calories, but maybe not. Maybe it breaking the 200 mark might have been the deciding factor...

Is this a case of manufacturers not reporting calories accurately enough? Right now I don't know whether to adjust yesterday's calories. Naturally I'd love to report a lower calorie intake, but only if it's actually correct.

Replies

  • daisyhougan
    daisyhougan Posts: 52
    I had a similiar experience yesterday, in putting something in that I was unsure of in terms of calorie count. It wasn't something I was going to eat often so I just put in the higher calorie amount but I probably would've felt differently if it was something I was planning to eat regularly. Having said that, I'd feel fairly comfortable going with the manufacturer's calorie count (forgive me if I'm wrong) but I usually have some wiggle room in my own calorie count....if I'm off on something by 50 calories, I'm usually still good long-term for taking off the weight especially if it's something I'm eating occasionally. If it's a larger difference in a regular meal, I'd just go with the higher count.
  • janarzooman
    janarzooman Posts: 6
    Considering all the fluctuation you see from one brand to the next, it kinds of makes me wonder how accurate anything is. I suppose going with the highest calorie count when there's discrepancy might be a good idea, unless there was a ridiculously wide gap between the low and the high #s. Then I'd just do more research.

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