Nutritional info

Restaurants and manufacturers change their nutritional info all the time due to small changes in how something is met. WW, MFP, etc. all sometimes get out of date. FWIW, most of the time if there has been recent change I have found WW behind on it, although not always. MFP relies mostly on users to correct it and some do it faster than others. If it is something that isn't that common, especially, I always check new foods against the manufacturer's website and often have to make changes to nutritional info on MFP (which any user can do). On WW it is often less important as most differences don't change the point count.

Oh...the scanner. Don't get me started on that thing.

The scanner just looks up a bar code by number. If it is missing from the database (as too many are), then WW offers members the option of "crowdsourcing" the data by entering it on the spot. Tnat COULD be fine...but it ISN'T. Because too many members don't see any good reason to enter information accurately and precisely as the label states it. If they don't count carbs, they may leave out the carbs. If they are savvy that the SP formula only uses calories, satfat, sugars and protein, they may only enter thouse four datapoints. And there may be many, many entries in the crowdsourced data for the same thing.

The MyNetDiary app works somewhat differently. If you scan a barcode and the food isn't in the database, you have the option of submitting it. You enter the data, but you must snap a photo of the NI panel. The MyNetDiary staff then verifies your entry against the photo. And unverified entries are clearly marked so users can decide whether to trust them or not.

To be honest, the NI that a restaurant puts out and what you get served may bare little relation to each other anyway. I doubt that line cooks in big restaurants weigh and measure everything as they go along. I'm sure that some pre-portioning is done before the day begins, but who knows how the planned recipes translate to reality. Because I take so many cooking classes with actual chefs who work in restaurant and commercial kitchens, I've heard and seen first-hand how "creative" they say they are in terms of subbing butter for oil, liberally salting foods, etc.