The answer to “what is actually in this?” is printed on every packet — as an indecipherable barcode. This free food barcode lookup turns that number into knowledge: type the digits under the bars of any food product and it queries Open Food Facts, the community-built database of more than three million foods, and shows you the product name and brand, its Nutri-Score grade, its NOVA processing level, and the full nutrition table per 100 g — energy, fats, saturates, sugars, salt, protein and fibre — plus the ingredients list and allergens. One honest note up front: you type the barcode number (it is printed right under the bars). This tool does not scan with your camera.
How the food barcode lookup works
When you press the button, the tool cleans your input — spaces and dashes are removed — checks it is 8 to 14 digits, and asks the Open Food Facts API (version 2) for that exact product code. The database answers with the product record its contributors have built: names, brands, the official Nutri-Score grade from A (best) to E, the NOVA group from 1 (unprocessed) to 4 (ultra-processed), and the nutriments table. The tool reads the per-100 g values from that table; if a product only reports energy in kilojoules, it converts to kilocalories (dividing by 4.184) so the table is consistent. Anything the record does not contain shows as a dash rather than a guessed number — no invented nutrition data, ever.
How to use it
Find the barcode on the packaging — the long black-and-white striped block — and type the number printed underneath it, then press Look up product. Compare products by their per-100 g values, not per serving: serving sizes are chosen by manufacturers and can make a sugary product look light, while per-100 g numbers always compare honestly. Use the Nutri-Score as a quick summary and the table for the detail: a product can score well overall and still be high in salt, and the table is where you will see it. The example button loads Nutella’s real record so you can see exactly what a full result looks like.
What Nutri-Score and NOVA mean
Nutri-Score compresses a product’s nutrition into one letter, A to E, balancing the things to limit (energy, sugars, saturated fat, salt) against the things to favour (fibre, protein, fruit and vegetable content). It is a comparison tool within a category — it tells you which of two spreads is the better choice, not whether spreads are a good idea. NOVA answers a different question: how processed is this? Group 1 is unprocessed food (fruit, plain rice), group 2 culinary ingredients (oil, sugar), group 3 processed foods (cheese, bread), and group 4 ultra-processed products (soft drinks, reconstituted snacks). Seeing both numbers together — quality and processing — gives a fairer picture than either alone.
Food Barcode Lookup – frequently asked questions
Is this tool free?
Yes, completely. Open Food Facts is a non-profit open database, and this lookup uses its free public API.
Why type the number instead of scanning the barcode?
Plain honesty: this version works by typing. The number is printed under the bars on every product, typing it takes seconds, and it works on any device — including ones without a camera. Camera scanning may come later; the nutrition data is identical either way.
Why is my product not found?
Open Food Facts is built by volunteers and shoppers, so very new, local or store-brand products are sometimes missing. You can add the product yourself on openfoodfacts.org in a couple of minutes — and then it will be here for everyone.
How accurate is the nutrition data?
It comes from the product’s own database record, usually transcribed from the printed label, but contributor errors exist. If a value matters — for a medical diet, for example — the printed label on the physical product always wins.
Related tools
Información Nutricional por Código de Barras — versión en español · Barcode Generator · Recipe Finder.
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