Repair a scan that mixed two nutrition-label columns
Reconstruct column membership with a coordinate-style ledger before accepting any serving or package calculation.
A nutrition scan can produce individually readable numbers that belong to the wrong columns. Repair this by reconstructing the table, not by selecting whichever value makes the calculation look reasonable. Every amount needs a column heading as well as a nutrient name.
Label the columns before the rows
Save a photograph that includes all column headings. Give each column a short identifier such as left-serving, right-package or middle-prepared. Copy the heading exactly into a small ledger, including its food amount and preparation wording.
The FDA describes labels that provide both serving and package information in its serving-size guide. The checking method below is an original way to preserve that distinction when transcribing a multi-column panel.
Rebuild one row across the page
For a fictional dual-column label, suppose the left column represents 25 g and shows 90 mg sodium, while the right column represents 75 g and shows 270 mg. Record two complete cells: sodium, left-serving, 90 mg; and sodium, right-package, 270 mg.
Both correctly paired calculations give 360 mg sodium per 100 g: 90 ÷ 25 × 100 and 270 ÷ 75 × 100. Pairing the right-column amount with the left-column weight instead gives 1,080 mg. The number is arithmetically valid for those inputs but does not describe either source column.
Check the whole affected table
If one row shifted, inspect the other extracted rows too. Do not assume the same error pattern applies to every row; a scan may preserve some cells while misplacing others. Use a visual guide such as a plain sheet held below the row when reading the physical package, without covering the heading in your reference photo.
Keep any percentage column separate from amount columns. A narrow percentage column can be mistaken for an additional nutrient quantity when text is flattened into a line. Preserve the percentage sign and its heading even when you do not use those values in the calculator.
Save the repaired table with a note identifying the corrected cells and their image source. Recalculate dependent results only after the column map is complete. If a heading is cut off, stop at an unresolved column assignment and obtain another photograph. Repeated arithmetic cannot recover a denominator that was never captured.