Catch › Barcode food scanner

Scan a barcode and get a straight answer

Mid-aisle, unsure about a product? Scan its barcode and Catch tells you whether it is a good buy, shows how it got there, and points to something better on the same shelf. No lecture.

What you get from a scan

Open the Scan tab and point the camera at a barcode. Catch gives the food a health score with a plain-words verdict and tags such as high in protein or low in sugar. Good ones can go straight onto a list, and once you have bought them they land in your pantry. You can also type a food's name instead of scanning it.

The numbers behind the verdict

A grade is a judgement, so Catch shows its working. You see energy, fat, sugars, salt, fibre and protein, and the vitamins where anyone knows them. The grade takes into account published measures such as the product's Nutri-Score, how processed it is and which additives it lists.

If a number is blank, it is because nobody has filled it in. Catch does not guess.

A better thing, same aisle

Scan something and Catch grades the whole aisle, then names a better buy you can actually find in your own country, not somebody else's. Tap it to see why it wins.

Where the data comes from

Grades come from Open Food Facts, a free, open database of food products built by volunteers and used in Catch under the Open Database Licence. When it has nothing useful, Catch falls back on a hand-checked table of about 120 common staples. Because volunteers maintain it, the data can be incomplete or out of date. If you find a product that came back with nothing, or a food graded wrongly, tell us at clemalb@gmail.com.

What is sent, and what is not

To look a product up, its barcode or name is sent to Open Food Facts. Nothing that identifies you goes with it, and Catch answers from what it already knows on your phone whenever it can. There is no account. See the privacy policy.

An honest limit

A grade helps you compare products on a shelf. It is information, not advice. Catch is not a medical device, and you should not rely on it for allergens, intolerances or any medical condition. Ingredient data can be wrong and recipes change, so for an allergy the label on the pack is the only thing that counts.