Nutrient Analysis: Flaxseed Meal

Flaxseed Meal

Let's start with ground flaxseed, since this is where I started my investigation due to some some egregious errors in the nutrient numbers on makesoylent.com.

I'm using Bob's Red Mill Flaxseed Meal in my recipe. In general I'm considering the numbers on the packaging most accurate, since they should represent the specific product in the bag. From there I'm falling back to the USDA numbers which, in this case, are for whole flaxseeds. I could be wrong, but I figure that the nutrition difference between the same weight of whole flaxseeds and ground flaxseeds should be minimal.

From there I'll use the cronometer or makesoylent numbers if I can find an additional source or reason to back them up.

Here are my findings for flaxseed meal:

	Packaging	makesoylent	cronometer	USDA	Chosen Value	Justification
Serving Size	13g	13g	13g	13g	13g
Calories (kcal)	60	69	60	69	64	USDA rounding rules allow for the company to round down to the nearest 10. I'm going to assume the highest value that will round down to 60.
Carbohydrates (g)	4	3.8	4	3.75	3.8	USDA rounding rules require rounding to the nearest .5, explaining the discrepancy. All values are close, so I'll use makesoylent's 3.8.
Protein (g)	3	2.34	3	2.38	2.5	USDA rounding rules allow rounding to nearest 1g. Choosing the lowest value that would allow for that rounding since USDA values are lower.
Total Fat (g)	4.5	5.46	4.5	5.48	4.74	USDA rounding rules allow rounding down to the nearest .5 in this case. Since USDA is higher I am choosing the highest fat content that can be rounded down to the value on the label.
Saturated Fat (g)	.5	0	0	.476	.476	USDA number and package number appear to match given USDA rounding rules. Using USDA number for increased precision.
Monounsaturated Fat (g)	1	0	1	.979	.979	USDA number and package number appear to match given USDA rounding rules. Using USDA number for increased precision.
Polyunsaturated Fat (g)	3.5	0	3.5	3.735	3.735	USDA number and package number appear to match given USDA rounding rules. Using USDA number for increased precision.
Omega-3 Fatty Acids (g)		0	2.4	0	2.4	Values taken from Bob's Red Mill FAQ
Omega-6 Fatty Acids (g)		0	0	.001	.56	Values taken from Bob's Red Mill FAQ
Total Fiber (g)	4	3.5	4	3.5	4	The sum of soluable and insoluable fiber per Values taken from Bob's Red Mill FAQ
Solubule Fiber (g)	1	0			1.33	Values taken from Bob's Red Mill FAQ
Insolubule Fiber (g)	3	0			2.67	Values taken from Bob's Red Mill FAQ
Cholesterol (mg)	0	0	0	0	0	All sources match.
Vitamin A (IU)		0	0	0	0	All sources match.
Vitamin B6 (mg)		0.1		.061	.061	Using USDA value.
Vitamin B12 (ug)		0	0	0	0	All sources match.
Vitamin C (mg)		0	0	.1	.1	Using USDA value
Vitamin D (IU)		0	0	0	0	All sources match
Vitamin E (IU)		0	0	.026664	.0267	Using USDA value
Vitamin K (ug)		1	0	.6	.6	Using USDA value
Thiamin (mg)		0.208	0	.214	.214	Using USDA value
Riboflavin (mg)		0.026	0	.021	.021	Using USDA value
Niacin (mg)		0.403	0	.4	.4	Using USDA value
Folate (ug)		11	0	11	11	Using USDA value
Panthotenic Acid (mg)		0.13	0	.128	.128	Using USDA value
Biotin (ug)		0			0	All sources match
Choline (mg)		10.231	0	10.2	10.2	Using USDA value
Calcium (g)	2% of 1g approx. 0.02g	0.03	.02	.033	.0299	USDA rounding rules has manufacturers round to the nearest 2%, which would put the max at .0299g, which is what I will use since this puts it close to the USDA value.
Chloride (g)		0			0	All sources match
Chromium (ug)		0			0	All sources match
Copper (mg)		0.156	0	.159	.159	Using USDA value
Iodine (ug)		0			0	All sources match
Iron (mg)	4% of 8mg approx 0.32-0.40mg	0.741	.7	.74	.74	I'm having some trouble rectifying these numbers. I'm going to go with the USDA number here, but it could be as low as half of the USDA number.
Magnesium (mg)		51	0	51	51	Using USDA value
Manganese (mg)		0.325	0	.323	.323	Using USDA value
Molybdenum (ug)		0			0	All sources match
Phosphorus (g)		0.083	0	.083	.083	Using USDA value
Potassium (g)		0.106	0	.106	.106	Using USDA value
Selenium (ug)		3	0	3.3	3.3	Using USDA value
Sodium (g)	0	0.004	0	.004	.004	Using USDA value
Sulfur (g)		0			0	All sources match
Zinc (mg)		0.559	0	.56	.56	Using USDA value