Barcode & Food Label Scanner
What is this feature?
The barcode and nutrition label scanner makes meal logging faster and more accurate. Patients can now scan a barcode on packaged foods to automatically pull in nutrition information or take a photo of a nutrition label to extract calories and macros directly from the image. Both options appear within the camera overlay, alongside existing AI meal photo detection and upload options.
Where do patients find it?
When adding a meal, patients can choose “Use camera,” then select either “Scan barcode” or “Scan label” in the camera overlay. Barcode and label options are also available on the meal detail screen as secondary entry points.
What types of foods work best?
Barcodes work best for most U.S. and Canadian packaged foods. Label scanning works for any clear photo of a standard nutrition label showing calories, macros, and serving size. If a barcode isn’t recognized, patients can still log manually or upload a photo as before.
How accurate is it?
Barcode lookups pull verified data from a trusted food database, while label scanning uses AI to extract calories and macros directly from the nutrition label.
What happens if the barcode doesn’t work?
If a barcode isn’t recognized or is unreadable, the app will suggest retrying or choosing another logging method, such as label scan or photo. Barcodes for niche, new, or private-label products may not be available yet, but database coverage will continue to expand over time.
How can I tell if something was scanned by a barcode?
When viewing a patient’s food log in the RD Portal, if the meal was added using the barcode scanner, it will display an indicator that the patient scanned a barcode.
How can RDs use this in sessions?
Encourage patients who want more accurate or detailed nutrition tracking, prefer logging packaged foods, or are using or comparing other tracking apps to try the new barcode and label scanner. Most competitor apps, such as MyFitnessPal or LoseIt!, only offer barcode scanning as a paid feature, while Nourish provides it for free.
Are there any restrictions?
Barcode and label scanning are not shown for patients with an eating disorder or disordered eating as a primary concern.
