Food Database and Nutrition Data
Use this topic when you are unsure about a food's nutrition data or cannot find the food you need. It explains food database accuracy, Food Grade and how to read Nutrition Facts and percent Daily Value. You can also find help with PhotoFoods, adding a restaurant or vendor, and tracking caffeine, allergens, fluoride or oxalate. For the steps to put a food into your diary, use Logging Food instead.
How the database works and when a food is missing
Use when you ask about database accuracy, need the recipe database, or want to find or report missing foods or restaurants.
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Is the Food Database Accurate?
See how large and current the food database is, how foods are researched and updated, and how fast PhotoFood requests are handled.
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What if I do not find food in the database?
Find your options when a food is missing: log a similar food, create a custom food or recipe, or send a PhotoFood request.
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What is PhotoFoods Service?
Request a missing or wrong food by sending photos of its name and nutrition label from the app, and learn how fast it is processed.
- How to add the new restaurant or vendor to the database
- Recipe Database 370K+
Read nutrition facts and daily values
Use when you want to read a food label, understand percent Daily Value, or tell Popular from Common nutrients.
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Nutrition Facts - Food Label Free
Read the interactive food label screen, choose how nutrient percentages are calculated, and verify a food against its printed label.
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Are Nutrition Facts showing uncooked or cooked food?
Know whether a food's Nutrition Facts are for cooked or raw food, how to search for the right version, and rules of thumb for converting.
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Nutrition Facts vs. % Daily Value: The Meaning of Percentages
Check what the % Daily Value on a Nutrition Facts label is based on, with the FDA amount for each nutrient and what changed after 2016.
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Understanding Popular vs. Common Nutrients
Learn how Popular and Common nutrients differ, which ones show by default, and how to choose extra nutrients to track in your logs and Dashboard.
Understand Food Grades
Use when you want to know what Food Grade is, how serving size changes it, or why you no longer see it.
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What is Food Grade?
Understand what a Food Grade tells you, what it is calculated from, how to compare foods fairly, and where to switch it on or off.
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Food Grades: How Serving Size Influences Nutritional Ratings
Learn why a Food Grade changes with serving size and how to compare similar amounts of similar foods, such as one slice of two pizzas.
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I don't see Food Grade anymore
Find out why Food Grade is hidden on the Mediterranean diet and how to turn it back on in the iOS app, Android app or website.
Check allergens, caffeine, fluoride or oxalate
Use when you ask about allergens, caffeine, fluoride or oxalate in your food diary.
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Allergens tracking
Find out why allergens are not tracked in the database and how to note allergens or gluten-free foods with Daily Notes and Copy & Customize.
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Coffee and Caffeine tracking
Add caffeine to coffee products that lack it with Copy & Customize, and see why many coffees show caffeine as N/A in the database.
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Fluoride Tracking
Understand the limits of fluoride tracking, and how to fix or estimate a missing fluoride value with PhotoFood or Copy & Customize.
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Oxalate journaling
Learn what oxalate tracking covers, why most foods lack oxalate data, and how to log estimates with a custom food or tracker.
Common questions about Food Database and Nutrition Data
What do I do if a food isn't in the database?
First, log a similar food, since the key is to keep tracking. For better accuracy, create a custom food with its serving and calories, or build it as a recipe from existing foods. On mobile you can also send a PhotoFood request with photos of the package and its Nutrition Facts, typically processed within 24 hours.
How accurate is the food database?
It is one of the most complete and up-to-date nutrition databases in the English-speaking world, with over 2,000,000 foods in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, and Australia. The research team adds hundreds of foods every day, and every change is double-checked by quality assurance. If you spot an error, a PhotoFood request is processed within 24 hours.
Are the nutrition facts for cooked or raw food?
If the name doesn't say cooked, uncooked, or raw, the facts are for the most common way the food is eaten: cooked for meats and grains, raw for fruits and vegetables. Add raw, fresh, or cooked to your search for more matches. If no cooked version exists, log the raw amount that makes the cooked portion you ate.
What does Food Grade mean?
Food Grade is a letter grade from A to D showing how healthy a food is compared with similar foods, based only on nutrients on the Nutrition Facts panel. It depends on the amount you eat, so compare similar quantities. On a Keto or Low-Carb diet, special grades emphasize carbs and fats. You can turn it off in App Settings.
Did Not Find It?
Email support@mynetdiary.com or send a request from the app under Me, then Support. Most replies within one business day.