Finding calorie counts online just got easier: Today, Google launches in-depth nutrition information for more than 1,000 foods. Whereas before, you had to sift through search results to find the answers to questions like “How much fiber is in carrots?” or “How many calories are in popcorn?” now this information will appear in a box at the top of the page for easy access. More detailed information will also be available at the click of a button, and you can get verbal answers to these questions via Google’s Voice Search app (available on the iPhone and Android).
“Every year, we’ve seen lots of searches for nutrition information on everything from avocados to bananas to a watermelon, and we realized there was no easy way to get that answer online,” says Roya Soleimani, senior communications associate on the search team at Google. “Now if I’m at the supermarket and trying to decide between a watermelon and a cantaloupe, I can easily see how much sugar is in each one and quickly make an informed decision.”
The new tool also makes it easier to find information on wine and liquor and standard serving sizes of various foods. The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) is the main data source, but it’s not the only one; the feature algorithmically fact checks all of the data against multiple sources across the Internet that Google has deemed reliable, says Soleimani.
Information on many packaged and restaurant foods isn’t currently available through the search in this initial phase, says Soleimani, but Google plans to expand the feature to include a wider range of items down the road. While the souped-up nutrition search is available in some markets starting today, it will roll out across the U.S. over the next week and a half.
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