Where do the calorie counts in the food database originate?

Why the discrepancy in the amount of calories for the same item listed in Calorie Count's database?  I wanted to know how many calories in seedless grapes and got listings for grapes from 15 calories for 1 1/4 cups; 62 calories for 1 cup; 1 1/2 cups as 30 calories, and what I believe is the most realistic - 110 calories for 1 cup of green seedless grapes.  Where do these totals come from?  If I wanted to, I could look through all the food lists and find calorie counts with false and extremely low totals and think I was doing great.  Does anyone monitor the food database for incorrect or faulty listings?

Thanks for any info.

I was wondering the same thing.  Quinoa is listed as having over 600 calories per cup, but that's uncooked.  Noone eats uncooked quinoa.  How do i install proper calorie amounts?

I'm wondering the same thing. There are so many times when I'm trying to find a food in that database and it's not even in there....

I've also found that some listings on CC are wrong based on the calories on the item's box.  I can't remember exactly which cereal it was, but the serving size was the same on both the box and CC and, on CC, one serving of the cereal was 20 calories more than it stated on the box.  (I've noticed other differences too, but I can't think of them at the moment)

Original Post by naomiselina:

I was wondering the same thing. Quinoa is listed as having over 600 calories per cup, but that's uncooked. Noone eats uncooked quinoa. How do i install proper calorie amounts?

1.  Can't answer all of them, however ^^.  When I cook quinoa, I use 1/4 cup per person -- raw, which turns into about 1/2 cooked. 150 cal raw = 150 cals cooked; 14 raw = 1/2 cooked.

It is rare to be able to buy quinoa already cooked, much like rice and noodles -- simply learn to measure before you cook (raw) and then you should have fewer problems.

2.  The database of foods is partially based on USDA lists of foods (and that is where many of the calorie counts came from), and partially based on user entries.  If you come across a food that is not in the database -- hit the contact us button and send the site personnel ALL the nutritional information available on the package -- after the information is reviewed and verified, the food should be entered into the database.  You can get to the USDA database here

3.  Manufacturer's change the composition of their foods on a fairly regular basis -- it is an imperfect science trying to keep up with those changes -- that is why a package's nutritional information may not match that in the database.  When you find a problem, report that to the site administrators also.

4.  Using weight as a measure is far more effective than volume (use grams/ounces instead of cups), most of the time

 

Suggestion:

As you folks answer questions like this, add the question and the answer to the FAQ. 

I didn't realize I could contact you to add a food, for instance.  That's useful information to have!

 

Yea well I just wanted to find out how much calories of fat if any were in fat free sour cream with fat free pretzels and a dip mix...all items fat free. Because I noticed nothing was coming up right.  Anyway I got 869 calories of fat in fat free pretzels and fat free sour cream!!!  I dont trust that thing at all!!

Since manufacturers can change the formulation of a product and the label at any time, there are bound to be discrepancies until the CC data base catches up.  You can help by sending a link for the item in question to the database team.  Use the "contact" link at the bottom of the page, or the "tell us what you think" link at the top. 

At the very bottom of the page, you will find a link for "help" here's what it says on this topic

Help

General : Where do you get the nutritional information from? (FAQs)

The first 6,000 food items were taken from the USDA National Nutrient Database for Standard Reference. The remaining 70,000+ foods were entered by our two dedicated database specialists, who continue to add new items and maintain the existing ones on a daily basis. The information entered into the database is received either directly from the manufacturers, or from the products' nutrition facts labels.

Original Post by limomof5boyz:

Yea well I just wanted to find out how much calories of fat if any were in fat free sour cream with fat free pretzels and a dip mix...all items fat free. Because I noticed nothing was coming up right.  Anyway I got 869 calories of fat in fat free pretzels and fat free sour cream!!!  I dont trust that thing at all!!

 If you would post the links to those items, we can probably help you figure out what you did wrong, or if the information was incorrect.  It could be that you had the serving sizes wrong.