A barcode looks a packaged product up by its number. The lookup checks the
Open Food Facts product records first, then the barcodes stored against foods
in the database, and returns the product's own figures.
On the phone
The scanner reads EAN-13, EAN-8, UPC-A, UPC-E, Code 128 and Code 39 codes,
which covers grocery packaging worldwide. Once a code is read the camera stops
until you scan again, so a product held in front of it is looked up once.
Without the camera
Tap Enter manually (or Type the barcode instead on the permission
card), type the digits under the barcode and tap Search. UPC codes are
usually 12 digits and EAN codes 13.
Camera permission
The camera is used only while the scanner screen is open, and no image leaves
the phone: the code is decoded on the device and only the number is sent. If
you declined the permission, the scanner offers the manual entry, and the
phone's own settings turn the camera back on:
On the web
The web camera reads UPC, EAN-13 and EAN-8 codes. It relies on the browser's
own barcode reader, which Chrome and Edge provide and some browsers do not; a
browser without one says so and offers the manual entry. Frames are read in
the browser and only the number is sent to the server.
When nothing is found
The message "No food found for this barcode" means the number is not among the
products the database knows. It happens for store brands, very new products
and codes from outside the retail systems. From there:
What scanning is not
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