A current package and an older database disagree: preserve both versions

When a package disagrees with a saved food entry, keep the evidence for both versions. The discrepancy may involve identity, serving basis, transcription or a genuine product change. A newer photograph is a useful observation, but it does not by itself establish which explanation is correct.

Record the difference precisely

Save the current package's identity, readable panel image and date observed. Preserve the database entry with the date you accessed it and any revision date it displays. Access date and revision date are different fields. If the service supplies no revision date, write unknown.

For a fictional example, your package states 160 mg sodium per 40 g while an older saved entry shows 150 mg per 30 g. These raw numbers look close, but the corresponding concentrations are 400 and 500 mg per 100 g. Before investigating a recipe change, confirm that both records identify the same variant and preparation state.

Separate an observation from its explanation

Your observation can be: displayed serving weights and sodium amounts differ. Your explanation remains unresolved unless the manufacturer or other suitable evidence establishes more. Avoid changing that note into reformulated with less sodium merely because the calculated concentration decreased.

The FDA label overview describes the main fields to inspect on a US panel. Use those fields to compare the source records systematically: serving, nutrient amount and relevant units, rather than a single headline number.

Make a current working copy

For a calculation involving the package you hold, transcribe its readable values into a new working version and identify that package as the source. Retain the older entry as historical evidence. Any comparison already shared from the old entry should keep its original date and source instead of silently changing underneath the reader.

If you seek clarification, prepare a concise manufacturer question with product identity, the two conflicting values and photographs. Ask whether the difference reflects a version change or another reason. A reply about a different market or pack size does not resolve your specific discrepancy.

Close the investigation only when you can state what was established. Possible outcomes include identity mismatch, transcription corrected, manufacturer-confirmed revision, or unresolved. Recording an unresolved result is more informative than inventing a definitive story. It also tells a future reviewer which evidence would actually be useful.