Where to find it
- In Chat, tap the barcode icon next to the message box.
- While building or editing a log, tap Scan barcode to add ingredient to add a product to a meal.
How to scan and log
- Tap the barcode icon. Allow camera access if asked.
- Point the camera at the barcode until it reads. You see "Looking up product...".
- The Log a meal screen opens with the product.
- Set how much you had. Use the − and + buttons to change servings in steps of 0.5, or type any amount. To enter an exact weight, tap Edit ingredients and change the quantity.
- Tap Save log.
The meal type defaults to the time of day. You can change it on the log card afterwards. See Meal types.
Where the product data comes from
Barcodes are looked up in the CalCoach food database, which includes products from a crowdsourced shared database of packaged foods. Products sold in other countries scan too, as long as we have them in our database.
When a barcode is not found
If no product is found, or it has no nutrition data, you see "Take a photo of the nutritional label".
- Tap the shutter to take a Photo of label, then Use Photo. The app reads the label and fills in the Add product form.
- Check the values. A product name and calories per serving are required.
- Tap Save & Log.
You can also tap Enter manually instead and type the values from the pack. Either way, the product is added to the database, so the next scan of that barcode finds it.
Supported barcodes
The scanner reads the standard retail barcodes printed on food packs (EAN-13, EAN-8, UPC-A and UPC-E).
Wrong product data
If a scanned product's numbers look wrong, open the log's ⋮ menu and tap Report data. See Where the numbers come from.