Food scanner app that reads the whole UK label
Scan a UK barcode and NutraSafe gives you the lot in one go: the calories and macros, the full ingredient list, every additive pulled out and flagged, the Big-14 allergens we can read, and how processed the food is. The whole label, not just the calorie count.
Free download Pro £3.99/month or £34.99/year Scanning & breakdown free
One barcode, the calories, the additives and the allergens
A calorie app stops at the number. NutraSafe reads the ingredients list too, so a single scan tells you what is actually in the pack, where it came from, and what it adds to your day.
Scan a UK barcode, get the whole label
Point the camera at any UK barcode and the whole label comes back at once. You see the calories and macros off the panel, the full ingredient list, every additive pulled out and flagged, the Big-14 allergens we can read, and how processed the food is on the NOVA scale. It is the back of the pack, decoded, before you eat it.
It reads the standard UK barcode (GTIN/EAN), the same one every UK supermarket uses, so Tesco, Sainsbury's, Asda, Morrisons, Aldi, Lidl, Co-op, Waitrose and M&S own-brands and the big names all look up the same way. Scanning and the full breakdown are free, with room to log a day's food.
See every additive, flagged and sourced
The scan reads the ingredients list and pulls out every additive, then flags the ones that carry a published concern and sorts them by how much is actually known. Tap any one for the plain-English version: what it is, where it turns up, and, where research exists, the concern and who published it, right on the line.
E150d, the caramel colour in many colas, is flagged because two of the four caramel types can contain a possible carcinogen (IARC). Sodium nitrite (E250) in bacon and ham is flagged to the same body, which classes processed meat as a cause of bowel cancer. You get the evidence and the source, so what you make of it is your call.
Big-14 allergen flags, read from the ingredients
NutraSafe reads the ingredients for the 14 allergens UK law requires a label to declare (celery, cereals with gluten, crustaceans, eggs, fish, lupin, milk, molluscs, mustard, nuts, peanuts, sesame, soya and sulphites) and flags the ones it finds. The same panel lays out the ingredients with the additives pulled out, so you are not squinting to work out which word is the additive.
One caveat, and we mean it. We surface only the allergens we can read from the ingredient list, and that data can be incomplete or out of date. Always check the packet yourself, and never rely on any app for a serious allergy. The flag is a prompt to look closer, not the last word on what is in the product.
Calories, macros and a running diary
Once a food is scanned you can add it to your day with one tap, and NutraSafe keeps the running totals: calories, protein, carbs, fat, fibre and salt against your targets. Logging is free for up to 25 foods a day. Everything you scan stays in the diary, so you build a picture of the week, not just one snack.
For food that never came with a barcode, a restaurant plate or a dinner you cooked, the AI meal scan reads a photo and estimates the calories and likely ingredients, and says on the card that it is an estimate. Pro also adds 14 vitamins and 12 minerals against UK reference values, the reaction diary, workouts and fasting.
What a scan of a can of cola shows
Scan a can of cola
Scan the barcode and the whole label comes back at once. The nutrition is straight off the can, roughly 139 kcal in a 330ml can, with the sugar and how ultra-processed it is laid out beside the ingredients. No typing, no guessing which item on the shelf it is.
The additives are pulled out and sourced. E150d, the caramel colour, is flagged to IARC. Phosphoric acid is flagged because a lot of it over the years is hard on kidneys and bone. The caffeine and the natural flavourings carry no flag. Every line names where the concern was published, the EFSA, the FSA or IARC, so you can go and check it yourself.
A calorie is a calorie. The rest of the label is not
Two products can carry the same calories and look nothing alike once you read past the number. One is a short list of ingredients you recognise. The other is a long list with colours, sweeteners and preservatives, and a processing level near the top of the NOVA scale. A calorie counter cannot tell them apart. A scanner that reads the ingredients can.
It matters because ultra-processed food makes up around 57% of the average UK adult's calories, and closer to two thirds of a teenager's, according to analyses of the National Diet and Nutrition Survey (Rauber et al. 2018; Cambridge, 2024). Most of the additives that come with that are declared on the label and then never read. The scanner reads them for you, pulls out the ones with a published concern, and names the body that raised it, the EFSA, the FSA or IARC, so you can check the source rather than take our word for it.
NutraSafe does not tell you a food is off limits and it does not hand out a verdict. It shows you what is in the pack, where each concern was published, and how it stacks up across your day and week. What you do with that is your call, and if a pattern looks worth raising, it is there to take to your GP or dietitian.
Food scanner FAQ
Any UK barcode. The big shops (Tesco, Sainsbury's, Asda, Morrisons, Aldi, Lidl, Waitrose, Co-op, M&S) and the brands they stock are all covered. Independents are hit or miss; we add missing items from in-app reports.
The download is free. Scanning, the full ingredient and additive breakdown, the allergen flags, the E-number library and room to log up to 25 foods a day are all free. NutraSafe Pro is £3.99 a month or £34.99 a year on iOS.
A calorie counter totals the day. A food scanner reads what's in the pack before you eat it: the ingredient order, the additives, the allergens, the panel and how processed it is. We do both, in the same diary. If you're weighing up options, see how NutraSafe measures up in our roundup of the best food scanner apps in the UK.
Yes. Every ingredient is checked against the additive library. Each additive comes back with a plain-English line on what it is and where it shows up; where published evidence exists, what the regulator or IARC has said, with the source.
Treat them as a prompt, not the last word. We surface the Big-14 allergens we can read from the ingredient list, and that data can be incomplete or out of date. Always check the packet, and never rely on any app for a serious allergy.
AI meal scan lets you photograph a plate and get back an estimate of calories, macros and likely ingredients. Less precise than a barcode scan; useful for restaurant food, home cooking and takeaways. Pro feature.
Previously-scanned products work offline from the diary. A fresh barcode needs a connection to look it up.
Search by name, or send the missing pack through the in-app report. Most of the time we add it within a week.
Scan a packet, read the whole label, log the day
Free download. Scanning, the full ingredient and additive breakdown and the allergen flags are all free. Pro is £3.99 a month or £34.99 a year for vitamins against UK reference values, the AI meal scan, the reaction diary, workouts and fasting.
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