Scanner
Scan a food label.
Point your camera at the ingredients panel or upload a photo. We read it on your device, match every additive against 101 indexed ingredients, and grade the health risk 0–10.
Shoot in good light — avoid glare on shiny wrappers.
Fill the frame with the full ingredients panel.
Hold the camera straight-on, not at an angle.
Private by design — OCR runs on your device. Your photo never leaves your phone.
Methodology
How the score is calculated.
Each additive in our database is assigned one of three hazard tiers. The health hazard score is the weighted sum of every matched ingredient, capped at 10 and rounded to 0.1:
Hazard tiers and daily safe limits are drawn from the published ADI / classification of:
- JECFA (Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives)
- EFSA (European Food Safety Authority)
- FDA (US Food and Drug Administration)
- FSSAI (Food Safety and Standards Authority of India)
- IARC (International Agency for Research on Cancer)
- WHO (World Health Organization)
Risk bands are High Risk (7+), Moderate (4–6.9), and Low Risk (below 4). When a scan scores above 7 we surface healthier, clean-label alternatives.
Calibration methods
Three ways to size your screen.
Method 1
Auto-Detect Device
TheFoodScanner reads your screen size automatically. No setup needed — this is the default for every scan session.
Method 2
Screen Diagonal
Enter your screen diagonal (in inches) so the on-screen reference card matches real-world sizing. Useful when you want to gauge a serving size against the displayed ruler.
Method 3
Credit Card Calibration
Hold a standard credit card (85.6 × 53.98 mm) against your screen and align it to the reference outline. The card has a globally fixed size, making this the most accurate manual method.