UK food data guide
UK food databases for calorie tracking
- Use CoFID for reference foods
- Use labelled product data for packaged foods
- Keep source and update dates visible
Reliable UK tracking combines authoritative reference foods with current packaged-food information and user-confirmed portions. No single source covers every meal, recipe and changing supermarket product perfectly.
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Why it worksUK food databases for calorie tracking
01 02 03 04 Practical context · 01 Practical context · 02
UK food databases for calorie tracking
inside one connected plan.
Use labelled product data for packaged foods
Keep source and update dates visible
Let users correct serving assumptions
Use the source that best matches the food being logged
No single database perfectly covers generic foods, every changing packaged product, restaurant meals and home recipes. Reliable tracking combines authoritative reference composition, current label-derived product information and user-confirmed portions. Provenance makes those records easier to assess and correct.
Match generic and branded foods differently
CoFID can support a generic apple, cooked rice or other reference food, while a named cereal or ready meal should be checked against current packaging where possible. Similar names do not establish identical recipes, servings or nutrient values.
Assess completeness as well as scale
A large catalogue can still contain duplicates, stale products or unverified servings. Look for source labels, update context, per-100g values and a correction route. Unknown items should remain visibly unknown rather than being silently matched to an unrelated product.
Here’s what we do next01 02 03
Use the guidance in practice.
Match the source to the food
Use authoritative reference data for generic foods and current product-label information for branded packaged items.
Verify portions and preparation
Check serving size, per-100g values and cooked or uncooked state because a correct source can still be applied incorrectly.
Preserve provenance and corrections
Useful records show where values came from, allow obvious errors to be corrected and do not present incomplete coverage as certainty.
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