Fish sandwich: fried from fast food vs school cafeteria USDA FDC 2707020 vs 2707025
Per 100 g, fried from fast food reports 8.2 g total fat, while school cafeteria reports 4.3 g total fat.
The comparison uses two cited USDA records. Their complete source names, household portions, nutrient values, and FoodData Central links remain visible below.
Highlighted difference
Total fat at the same 100-gram weight
Bar length shows the two cited values on one shared denominator. It does not rank either food or establish why they differ.
-
8.2 g -
4.3 g
Shared basis: 100 g · g
Equal-weight evidence
Nutrition per 100 grams
Both columns use the same mass, which compares nutrient concentration without allowing the two representative source amounts to change the denominator. “A +” or “B +” reports the arithmetic difference between the cited values; it is not a quality score.
On smaller screens, focus a comparison table and scroll horizontally to read every column.
| Nutrient | A · Fish sandwich, fried, from fast food | B · Fish sandwich, from school cafeteria | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Calories | 235 kcal | 209 kcal | A +26 kcal |
| Protein | 14.5 g | 15 g | B +0.5 g |
| Total fatMaterial difference | 8.2 g | 4.3 g | A +3.8 g |
| Carbohydrate | 25.7 g | 27.4 g | B +1.7 g |
| Dietary fiberMaterial difference | 0.9 g | 3.5 g | B +2.6 g |
| Total sugars | 3.1 g | 2.5 g | A +0.6 g |
| Sodium | 462 mg | 387 mg | A +75 mg |
| Saturated fatMaterial difference | 2.4 g | 1 g | A +1.4 g |
| Potassium | 229 mg | 280 mg | B +51 mg |
| Calcium | 73 mg | 100 mg | B +27 mg |
| Iron | 1.9 mg | 1.8 mg | A +0.1 mg |
Values come from the two cited USDA FoodData Central Survey Foods records. Feast does not average records, impute missing values, or infer a nutrient from the food name.
Read the table by question
The material primary-nutrient differences run in both directions: A is higher on 1, while B is higher on 1.
These answers describe concentration per 100 grams. “More” and “less” identify the arithmetic direction only; they do not decide which record is a better match or which food is better for a person.
Which reports fewer calories?
Record B
Record B reports 209 kcal, compared with 235 kcal in the other record—a difference of 26 kcal.
Which reports more protein?
Record B
Record B reports 15 g, compared with 14.5 g in the other record—a difference of 0.5 g.
Which reports more fiber?
Record B
Record B reports 3.5 g, compared with 0.9 g in the other record—a difference of 2.6 g.
Which reports less sodium?
Record B
Record B reports 387 mg, compared with 462 mg in the other record—a difference of 75 mg.
What differs in the source descriptions
The exact names carry information the numbers cannot.
USDA assigns both records to “Seafood sandwiches,” but the topic label is broad. Record A is “Fish sandwich, fried, from fast food.” Record B is “Fish sandwich, from school cafeteria.” Feast paired them because their contrast-neutral food identities are an exact match, not merely because they share a generic category.
The controlled name parser found 2 interpretable distinctions. These labels organize wording already present in the names; they do not establish that a distinction caused a nutrient difference.
| Description dimension | Record A | Record B |
|---|---|---|
| Preparation wording | fried | No matching controlled term in the source name |
| Source context | restaurant or fast food | school |
Even a clean name contrast can carry hidden companions. A fried record may also include coating; a restaurant record can use a different recipe; a reduced-sodium description can differ in more than salt; and a source amount can reflect a different reporting convention. That is why this page reports the complete pair rather than treating one word as an intervention.
Portion context
A representative source amount is not a shared “serving.”
Record A uses USDA reference amount at 130 g. Record B uses USDA reference amount at 90 g. Those labels and gram weights come from their respective records. They are useful for scaling the chosen profile, but they are not recommendations and need not describe equal amounts.
The two representative amounts differ by 40 g (31% of the larger amount). This is why the main table holds mass at 100 g. After selecting the closer description, use its household measure or a gram estimate for the amount actually eaten.
A cup, piece, slice, sandwich, fillet, or fluid ounce can have different gram weights across records. A matching label is not enough: check the listed grams. If accuracy matters more than convenience, weighing the food or using a current package label can be more specific than a generic survey-food measure.
Record A measures
- 1 regular sandwich130 g
- 1 large sandwich260 g
- 1 submarine260 g
- 1 miniature/slider65 g
- USDA reference amount130 g
Record B measures
- 1 sandwich, any size90 g
- USDA reference amount90 g
USDA source formulation evidence
The listed inputs provide another way to audit the match.
FNDDS includes input-food rows behind each standardized survey-food record. Record A’s leading listed inputs include Fish fillet, fried as ingredient in sandwiches, Rolls, hamburger or hotdog, plain, Industrial oil as ingredient in food, Salt, table. Record B’s include Bread, whole-wheat, commercially prepared, Fish, haddock, baked or broiled, coated. Ingredient-code overlap is 0%, and normalized listed-input-weight variation is 100%.
Record A · 4 coded inputs
Fish sandwich, fried, from fast food
- Fish fillet, fried as ingredient in sandwichesIngredient code 9999261057.1% of listed input weight
- Rolls, hamburger or hotdog, plainIngredient code 18350 · open source index41.9% of listed input weight
- Industrial oil as ingredient in foodIngredient code 99998210 · open source index0.8% of listed input weight
- Salt, tableIngredient code 2047 · open source index0.3% of listed input weight
Record B · 2 coded inputs
Fish sandwich, from school cafeteria
- Bread, whole-wheat, commercially preparedIngredient code 18075 · open source index55.6% of listed input weight
- Fish, haddock, baked or broiled, coatedIngredient code 2611713044.4% of listed input weight
0 shared coded inputs
The two listed formulations do not share an ingredient code in this source extract. Shared codes can still carry different listed weights.
4 A-only and 2 B-only coded inputs
A-only entries include Fish fillet, fried as ingredient in sandwiches, Rolls, hamburger or hotdog, plain, Industrial oil as ingredient in food, Salt, table. B-only entries include Bread, whole-wheat, commercially prepared, Fish, haddock, baked or broiled, coated.
Important: repeated rows carrying the same ingredient code are combined before the shares and overlap are calculated. These weights belong to USDA’s source formulation: they are not a reconstructed plate, final cooked yield, visitor serving, ingredient declaration, or estimate of what is visible in a photo. USDA’s FNDDS documentation explains that these calculation recipes can represent multiple variants, may include retention or moisture adjustments, and are not product-label ingredient lists.
Choosing the closer record
Match context first; scale second.
- 01
Read both names literally
Compare cooking method, coating, edible skin or peel, sauce, additions, venue, source form, and food subtype. For this pair, the full A and B descriptions above are the evidence—not shortened search labels.
- 02
Use listed inputs as a check
If the name still leaves ambiguity, compare the leading and unique source inputs. They can reveal that two near names refer to meaningfully different standardized formulations, but they do not reconstruct your dish.
- 03
Choose an amount for that record
After choosing A or B, use its own named measure and gram weight. Do not transfer a cup, slice, or “typical amount” from the other record as if the measures were interchangeable.
- 04
Account for missing details
Brand, current restaurant recipe, cooking oil, drained weight, toppings, substitutions, and unfinished portions may not be captured. A label or weighed recipe can supersede a generic reference when it better matches the actual food.
Limits and responsible interpretation
This is a comparison of records, not a causal study.
The two records come from 2021–2023 FoodData Central Survey Foods data. The nutrient table faithfully compares their published values on the same weight basis. It does not measure two plates prepared at the same time, isolate one ingredient, or estimate the uncertainty around either value.
For this pair, the source names differ across 2 documented description dimensions, while the listed formulations show 0% ingredient-code overlap and 100% normalized listed-weight variation. Moisture, ingredient proportions, preparation, and record construction can therefore move together. The page can describe the combined record difference; it cannot isolate the effect of one word.
A higher or lower number is not an overall verdict. Protein, fiber, sodium, energy, fat, micronutrients, preferences, allergies, budget, portion, and an individual’s goals answer different questions. Feast therefore reports directions and magnitudes without applying a universal “healthier” label.
This page is educational and does not diagnose a condition, prescribe a target, or replace advice from a qualified professional. For an allergy, medically directed diet, or strict ingredient limit, use verified ingredient information and guidance appropriate to that situation.
How this page qualified
A page is published only when the pair clears materiality and diversity gates.
Both records must occupy the same USDA survey-food topic and share a close food identity after a controlled vocabulary separates preparation, edible-part, source, claim, crust, and sauce wording. Exact contrast-neutral identities receive priority. Close ingredient or form substitutions can qualify when name overlap remains high and the numerical evidence is material.
For primary nutrients, Feast requires both an absolute and relative difference: at least 20 kcal and 12% for energy; 2 g and 18% for protein or fat; 5 g and 15% for carbohydrate; 1 g and 20% for fiber; 4 g and 20% for sugars; or 100 mg and 20% for sodium. A focused one-nutrient pair also needs a material representative-amount or formulation distinction. Rounding-only pairs are not published.
Unordered FDC IDs define a canonical pair, so reversing A and B cannot create another page. Each source record can appear twice at most, each USDA topic contributes no more than 40 pages, and closely repeated identity families are capped. Those rules produced a selective comparison library rather than every mathematical combination in the corpus.
Read the complete nutrition-page methodology for import, nutrient mapping, portion scaling, Daily Value, and uncertainty rules.
Decision support from the exact records on this page
Turn source data into a better next decision
These conclusions and reading paths are computed from 2 exact records behind Fish sandwich, fried, from fast food versus Fish sandwich, from school cafeteria. Links are chosen by record identity, controlled contrast, formulation input, nutrient spread, or serving context—not by loose keyword similarity.
Equal-weight result
Fish sandwich, fried, from fast food is higher in total fat per 100 g
Fish sandwich, fried, from fast food reports 8.2 g versus 4.3 g for Fish sandwich, from school cafeteria: a 3.8 g difference when both are normalized to 100 g.
Inspect the underlying evidenceThe denominator changes the answer
Fish sandwich, from school cafeteria is denser; Fish sandwich, fried, from fast food is higher in its source amount
Fish sandwich, from school cafeteria reports 15 g per 100 g and 13.5 g in USDA source amount (90 g). Fish sandwich, fried, from fast food reports a lower 14.5 g per 100 g but a higher 18.9 g in USDA source amount (130 g).
Record identity is part of the estimate
Distinguish “Fish sandwich, fried, from fast food” from “Fish sandwich, from school cafeteria”
These are separate USDA records with separate formulations or survey descriptions. Match preparation, additions, and the named household amount before borrowing either record’s nutrients.
Inspect the underlying evidenceContextual knowledge graph
Follow the relationship that matches your question
For Fish sandwich, fried, from fast food versus Fish sandwich, from school cafeteria, each path states why the destination belongs here, so you can distinguish a true evidentiary connection from a merely similar label.
Fish sandwich, fried, from fast food and Fish sandwich, from school cafeteria are explicitly linked in this guide, which separates direct name matches from contextual variants.
Follow this evidence path Best next guide for this exact record Fish sandwich, friedFish sandwich, fried, from fast food is explicitly linked in this guide, which separates direct name matches from contextual variants.
Follow this evidence path Test a nearby record choice Fish sandwich, from school cafeteria vs Fish sandwich, grilledFish sandwich, from school cafeteria is held as one side of the comparison. The explicit record-description contrast is Preparation wording: No matching controlled term in the source name versus grilled; it is a selection cue, not evidence of cause.
Follow this evidence path A formulation detail that separates records Bread, whole-wheat, commercially preparedUSDA input 18075 appears in 1 of 2 context records; its summed listed input weight spans 50–50 g across those source formulations. These are source-formulation input weights, not plated or serving weights. Follow the code to inspect every represented occurrence.
Follow this evidence path A formulation detail that separates records Industrial oil as ingredient in foodUSDA input 99998210 appears in 1 of 2 context records; its summed listed input weight spans 1–1 g across those source formulations. These are source-formulation input weights, not plated or serving weights. Follow the code to inspect every represented occurrence.
Follow this evidence path Test a nearby record choice Fish sandwich, fried, from fast food vs Fish sandwich, grilledFish sandwich, fried, from fast food is held as one side of the comparison. The explicit record-description contrast is Preparation wording: fried versus grilled; it is a selection cue, not evidence of cause.
Follow this evidence path 2 context records in this source topic Seafood sandwichesFish sandwich, fried, from fast food and Fish sandwich, from school cafeteria belong to this USDA source-category collection. Its displayed ranges and complete exact-record catalog provide the peer set for a manual comparison; the destination does not preselect this page’s record.
Follow this evidence path