Try Chuw

Food label scanner: the small print, read for you

Photograph the ingredient list and nutrition table, or scan the barcode. Chuw reads what the pack says, sugar under other names and claims included, and sums it up in one score from 0 to 100 with its reasons.

Free to try. No account needed.

  1. Open Chuw and tap Scan.
  2. Point your phone at the barcode, or photograph the ingredient list and nutrition table.
  3. Read the score and the reasons behind it.

The back of one pack, annotated

A real crunchy muesli, translated from its Dutch pack. Six things on it are worth a second look.

Ingredients: 44% wholegrain OAT flakes, 14% wholegrain vegetarian WHEAT flakes, sunflower oil, oligofructose, sugar, 5.5% rice crisp (rice semolina, WHEAT flour, sugar, BARLEY malt, salt), 4.7% ALMOND, 4.5% HAZELNUT, desiccated coconut, 2.2% wholegrain OAT flour, glucose syrup, 1.0% PECAN, 0.5% BRAZIL NUT, BARLEY malt extract, honey, vanilla extract, caramelised sugar, natural flavouring, antioxidant: E306.

Nutritionper 100 g
Energy
451 kcal
Fat
19.4 g
of which saturates
3 g
Carbohydrate
52.5 g
of which sugars
10.5 g
Fibre
13.2 g
Protein
9.9 g
Salt
0.08 g

  1. Heaviest first

    Ingredients are listed by weight, so the oats lead at 44% and everything after them weighs less.

  2. Sugar under four names

    Sugar, glucose syrup, honey and caramelised sugar. Split over four names, each one sits further down the list than a single ‘sugar’ would.

  3. Allergens stand out

    EU rules make allergens stand out in the list. This pack uses capitals; others use bold.

  4. Compare per 100 g

    Serving sizes differ from pack to pack. Per 100 g, two packs of muesli compare fairly.

  5. A fibre claim would hold

    13.2 g is more than twice the EU ‘high in fibre’ level of 6 g per 100 g.

  6. ‘No added sugars’ would not hold

    That claim is only allowed when nothing was added to sweeten the product. This list has four sweet ingredients.

What Chuw makes of it

64In moderationCrunchy muesli

Chuw can read a whole label like this from a photo. The reasons behind its 64 include the fibre, the sugar under several names and the ultra-processing, each shown in the result. The E306 at the end is a vitamin E extract, added as an antioxidant.

How the score is built

Barcode or photo?

Both end in the same score. They differ in where the label comes from.

Barcode

Best for
Packaged food, checked fast
What it reads
The label data stored for that barcode
Recipe changed?
Shows the stored version of the label

Photo of the label

Best for
Any pack in your hand, also when the barcode isn't found
What it reads
The ingredient list and nutrition table on the pack itself
Recipe changed?
Reads the pack in front of you

Claims, checked

Claim check compares claims such as ‘high in fibre’ and ‘low sugar’ on a pack with their EU definitions and the pack's own numbers, as in note 5 above. It is part of Premium.

See what Premium includes

When the label leaves gaps

Chuw still gives a score. If a value is estimated, it marks the score as estimated, says what would make it more exact, and never fills a gap in the product's favour.

Good to know

Is the food label scanner free?
Yes. The free plan includes scanning and scoring, with 3 scans a day, and you can try a scan without an account. Claim check is part of Premium.
Does it work without a barcode?
Yes. Photograph the ingredient list and nutrition table and Chuw reads them from the pack. It also scans fresh produce and plated meals.
Does Chuw tell me what to eat?
No. It explains what is in a product and why it scores as it does. The choice stays yours.

Read on

What ultra-processed means, and how Chuw checks it

Scan your first label

Free to try. No account needed.

Ingredient list and values from a real product in Chuw's test set, shown without its brand; its score of 64 comes from the current scoring rules. Nutrition claim definitions follow EU Regulation (EC) No 1924/2006; ingredient order and allergen emphasis follow EU Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011.