We're NutraSafe — a UK food scanner app with allergen warnings on Pro. We get asked how we compare to allergen-specific trackers, so here's what each of the main UK options does, including ours. Prices verified 7 May 2026; we made one of the apps in this comparison so this is our description, not a neutral test.
Below we cover what changed for UK labelling with Natasha's Law, the 14 allergens you'll be scanning for, what each of the main tracker apps actually does, and what to look for when you pick one. We'll be honest where we don't know a competitor's current price — the App Store is the source of truth, not us.
Why allergen tracking matters: Natasha's Law and the UK label landscape
In October 2021, Natasha's Law came into force across the UK. The law requires a full ingredient list with allergens emphasised — typically in bold — on all pre-packed for direct sale (PPDS) foods. PPDS covers items packed on the same premises they're sold from: the sandwich made behind the counter, the salad boxed in-store, the cake sliced and wrapped at the till. Before Natasha's Law these items often carried no ingredient list at all.
The law was introduced after the death of Natasha Ednan-Laperouse, who had a fatal allergic reaction to a baguette bought from Pret a Manger that did not carry allergen labelling. It's a significant improvement, but labels are only useful if you can read them in the moment, and "may contain" warnings — which are voluntary, not legally required — vary widely between manufacturers. That's the gap allergen tracker apps try to close.
The FSA Big 14: the allergens UK manufacturers must declare
Under UK Food Information Regulations 2014, businesses must declare any of the 14 named allergens present in their products and emphasise them in the ingredient list. These are what any UK allergen tracker should support:
Cereals containing gluten cover wheat, rye, barley and oats. Tree nuts cover almonds, hazelnuts, walnuts, cashews, pecans, Brazil nuts, pistachios and macadamia nuts. Sulphites only need declaring above 10 mg/kg or 10 mg/litre. Beyond the Big 14, most people who track allergens also have personal triggers — sunflower oil, chickpea, garlic — which is why support for free-text custom triggers matters as much as the named list.
The main UK food allergy tracker apps in 2026
These are the apps UK readers most often ask us about. Pricing for our app is taken straight from the live build; for everything else, the App Store is the source of truth — current prices and tier structures move, so check there before you commit. We've described what each one does in plain terms.
1. NutraSafe (ours) — UK food database, allergen warnings, reaction diary
Full disclosure: this is our app. Everything below describes what we built and what's free vs Pro.
What it does: Our UK food scanner checks every barcode against your allergen profile, supports the FSA Big 14 plus free-text custom triggers, logs reactions in a diary you can take to your GP, and flags additives and E-numbers in plain English. The detailed allergen warning breakdown and suspected-triggers analysis sit on Pro.
Price: Free to download. Free tier: barcode scan + grade with basic allergen flag, up to 25 food logs per day, up to 5 reaction logs, public E-number lookup, no ads. NutraSafe Pro is £3.99/month (iOS, monthly only) and unlocks allergen warning detail on barcode scans, suspected-triggers analysis on the reaction diary, full reaction history, vitamin and mineral tracking against UK NRVs, AI Coach, AI meal scan, fasting, workouts, and processed-food and NRV insights.
Who we built it for: UK shoppers managing one or more allergens who want one app for label scanning, a reaction diary, and broader food intelligence.
- UK supermarket barcode coverage (Tesco, Sainsbury's, Asda, Aldi, Lidl, Morrisons)
- FSA Big 14 plus free-text custom triggers — set them once, every scan checks against your list
- Allergen warning detail on Pro; basic allergen flag on free
- Reaction diary: 5 free entries; full history and suspected-triggers analysis on Pro
- E-number scanner with plain-English explanations
- No ads on either tier
- iOS only at launch (Android in development)
- NutraSafe Pro is monthly only — no annual tier
2. Yuka — additive grader, not an allergen-specific tracker
Single 0–100 score per product, primarily a French database
What it does: Scans barcodes and gives a single score based on nutrition quality and additive content. It surfaces the major allergens declared in the product but its core focus is the additive grade rather than allergen profile management.
Price: Free basic tier; Premium £15/year for search, offline mode and unlimited history (verified 7 May 2026 against the UK App Store listing).
Who it's for: Quick additive checks. If your primary need is a personal allergen profile with custom triggers and a reaction diary, Yuka isn't built around that.
- Established additive database
- Single composite score, opinionated by design
- Catalogue is primarily French — UK own-label and smaller brands may not appear
- No reaction diary, no symptom logging
3. Spoon Guru — allergen-focused, UK supermarket integrations
Personalised dietary profiles wired into UK online grocery
What it does: Allergen and dietary-profile filtering against UK supermarket catalogues. Spoon Guru has been integrated with Tesco's online grocery search at various points and has B2B partnerships across UK retail. The consumer app lets you set a profile and filter products against it.
Price: Tiering and price have changed over the app's life — check the App Store listing for current pricing.
Who it's for: People who do most of their shopping online through Tesco or another integrated UK retailer and want their allergen profile applied to product search.
- Built around UK supermarket data
- Allergen and dietary-preference filtering
- Recipe suggestions matching your profile
- More of a shopping tool than a daily food and reaction diary
4. Foodvisor — photo logging with calorie focus
Calorie-focused with limited allergen detail
What it does: Identifies foods from photos, logs calories and macros, and flags some allergens. Calorie-focused with limited allergen detail relative to a dedicated allergen tracker.
Price: Free tier with paid Premium — see the App Store for current pricing.
Who it's for: Calorie tracking with photo-based food recognition where allergens are a secondary need.
- Photo-based meal logging
- Calorie and macro tracking
- Some allergen flagging, not the focus of the app
- No dedicated reaction diary
5. Fig — elimination diets and overlapping conditions
Detailed ingredient analysis, US-rooted database
What it does: Lets you set multiple dietary restrictions — allergens, FODMAP, low-histamine, elimination protocols — and breaks down each ingredient with a clear reason for any flag. Useful when you're managing several overlapping conditions at once.
Price: Free basic tier with paid Premium — see the App Store for current UK pricing.
Who it's for: People juggling overlapping dietary rules. UK product coverage is growing but the catalogue is US-rooted, so own-brand items from Tesco, Sainsbury's, Asda or Aldi may not appear.
- Detailed per-ingredient breakdown
- Multiple dietary profiles supported
- US-rooted database — UK own-brand coverage is uneven
- Not a reaction-diary-led app
6. Specialised options — Coeliac UK, ZOE
For one specific need rather than general allergen tracking
Coeliac UK's app is built specifically for people with coeliac disease and includes the Food and Drink Information service — the curated UK gluten-free product list. Membership-based; pricing is set by Coeliac UK rather than the App Store.
ZOE is personalised nutrition — gut, blood-sugar and metabolic insights from a paid testing programme plus an app. It is not an allergen tracker, but readers sometimes ask about it in this category. Subscription is in a different price bracket from the apps above.
Who they're for: Coeliac UK if you're specifically managing coeliac disease and want a curated GF product list. ZOE if you're after personalised metabolic insights and you've budgeted for the testing programme.
If we don't list an app you use, that doesn't mean it isn't worth using — there are dozens of niche tools in this space. We've described the ones UK readers ask us about most often.
What to look for in an allergen tracker
Not every app is right for every person. These are the things worth checking before you settle on one:
- UK food coverage. A large catalogue is only useful if it contains the products on UK supermarket shelves. Check that own-brand lines from Tesco, Sainsbury's, Asda, Aldi, Lidl and Morrisons appear before you commit.
- The full FSA Big 14, not just the US "Big 8". Some apps default to the US allergen list, which leaves out lupin, molluscs, sulphites, celery and mustard. For the UK, you want all 14 named allergens supported as first-class entries.
- Free-text custom triggers. Personal triggers — sunflower oil, chickpea, garlic, sulphites in specific wines — sit outside the named 14. An app that lets you add free-text triggers and checks them against ingredient lists is more useful than one limited to the named list.
- Pre-pack vs PPDS handling. Pre-packed retail products carry barcodes and ingredient lists; PPDS items (sandwich made on-site, salad boxed at the counter) carry a label under Natasha's Law but no barcode. An app that combines barcode scanning with manual ingredient entry covers both.
- Reaction diary. A dated log of what you ate and any symptoms is what your GP or registered allergist actually wants to see. Apps without a diary leave that part to memory.
- Honest language. An app that promises a product is "free from" an allergen is overreaching — only the manufacturer can confirm that. Look for language that describes what the app found in the ingredient list it has on file, not absolute claims about the physical product.
What we do, concretely
You set your allergens once — pick from the FSA Big 14 plus add any free-text triggers (sunflower oil, garlic, anything personal). Every barcode scan after that checks the product's ingredient list against your list, and if there's a hit we surface it. The free tier shows a basic allergen flag; NutraSafe Pro shows the full warning detail and runs suspected-triggers analysis across your reaction diary.
We're careful with the language. When the app says it found an allergen, that's because the ingredient list we have on file mentions it. When it doesn't surface a warning, the language is "isn't in the ingredients we have on file" — never "this product is free from X". Manufacturers reformulate, "may contain" warnings are voluntary, and the on-pack label is the only confirmed source. Our job is to give you a faster pre-check so you read the label with the right thing in mind, not to replace the label.
The reaction diary is the bit that takes the most pressure off memory. You log a reaction, tag the foods you ate beforehand, and on Pro the app surfaces patterns across time — foods that recur in the run-up to reactions. That's a printable record you can take to your GP or registered allergist; it doesn't diagnose anything on its own.
What no app can do
No tracker app — ours or anyone else's — can confirm a food allergy or replace medical guidance. We're a tracking tool. The diary, the scans, the suspected-triggers list are useful inputs for an appointment with a GP or registered allergist; they're not a substitute for one. If you suspect a new allergy, especially one that has caused breathing difficulty, swelling or a severe reaction, that's a clinical appointment, not an app question.
Equally, no app can replace reading the on-pack label. Manufacturers change recipes. A product that scanned safe last month may not scan safe this month. Always check the label as the source of truth before you eat.
NutraSafe free vs Pro
So readers know exactly what they're getting before they download:
| Feature | Free | Pro (£3.99/month) |
|---|---|---|
| Barcode scan + grade | Yes | Yes |
| Allergen profile (FSA Big 14 + custom) | Yes | Yes |
| Allergen warning detail on scans | Basic flag | Full detail |
| Food logging | Up to 25/day | Unlimited |
| Reaction logging | Up to 5 reactions | Unlimited + full history |
| Suspected-triggers analysis | — | Yes |
| Vitamin and mineral tracking (UK NRVs) | — | Yes |
| AI Coach + AI meal scan | — | Yes |
| Public E-number lookup | Yes | Yes |
| Ads | None | None |
NutraSafe Pro is iOS only and monthly only — there is no annual tier. Pricing verified 7 May 2026.
Set your allergens once. Scan with confidence.
Set the FSA Big 14 plus your custom triggers in NutraSafe and every barcode scan checks them for you. Free tier covers daily use; the detailed allergen breakdown and reaction-pattern analysis sit on Pro.
Get NutraSafe on the App StoreNutraSafe Pro · £3.99/month · iOS
Frequently Asked Questions
What are the 14 allergens in the UK?
Under UK Food Information Regulations 2014 — the FSA Big 14 — manufacturers must declare: celery, cereals containing gluten (wheat, rye, barley, oats), crustaceans, eggs, fish, lupin, milk, molluscs, mustard, peanuts, sesame, soybeans, sulphur dioxide and sulphites at concentrations above 10 mg/kg or 10 mg/litre, and tree nuts (almonds, hazelnuts, walnuts, cashews, pecans, Brazil nuts, pistachios, macadamia nuts).
Can a food allergy tracker app replace medical advice?
No. We're a tracking tool, not a medical service. Apps like ours help you check labels, log reactions, and keep a record you can take to your GP or registered allergist — they cannot diagnose an allergy or replace clinical testing. If you suspect a food allergy, see your GP, who may refer you to an NHS allergy clinic for skin-prick or blood testing.
Do allergy tracker apps work with UK supermarket products?
Coverage varies. Our app is built around a UK food database covering Tesco, Sainsbury's, Asda, Aldi, Lidl and Morrisons. Yuka's catalogue is primarily French. US-rooted options like Fig have growing UK coverage but tend to be stronger on US own-brand. Always check the on-pack label as the source of truth — it overrides anything an app shows.
Is NutraSafe free for allergy tracking?
Our app is free to download. The free tier includes barcode scanning with our grade and a basic allergen warning, up to 25 food logs per day, up to 5 reaction logs, and the public E-number lookup. The detailed allergen warning breakdown, suspected-triggers analysis and full reaction history are NutraSafe Pro features at £3.99/month (iOS, monthly only).
What's the difference between a food allergy and intolerance?
A food allergy involves the immune system. Tiny amounts of the trigger food can cause a reaction, which in severe cases can include anaphylaxis — a life-threatening emergency. A food intolerance does not involve the immune system; symptoms like bloating, stomach pain or diarrhoea typically depend on the amount consumed. The NHS recommends seeing a GP for proper diagnosis. We're a tracking tool — the diary is what you take to the appointment. For more, see our food allergy vs intolerance UK guide.
Do I still need a tracker app with Natasha's Law in force?
Natasha's Law (October 2021) requires a full ingredient list with allergens emphasised on UK pre-packed for direct sale (PPDS) foods — sandwiches made on-site, salads boxed at the counter and similar. It is a major step forward, but reading small-print labels under time pressure is error-prone, voluntary "may contain" warnings vary widely, and a reaction diary still helps you and your GP track patterns over time. The app and the label work together; neither replaces the other.