# FoodCheckr > FoodCheckr is a free food scanner app for iPhone. It reads a product barcode or a > photograph of the printed ingredient label and reports insect-derived additives, > harmful E-numbers, declared allergens, bioengineered ingredients and full nutrition. > Rated 4.3/5 on the App Store across 319 ratings. Available in 9 languages. ## Key facts - App Store: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/foodcheckr-food-scanner/id6449684995 - Platform: iPhone only, iOS 15.0 or later. No Android or iPad version. - Price: free to download, with optional in-app purchases for extended AI analysis. - Two scan modes: barcode lookup, and camera-based ingredient-label reading (OCR). - Distinctive features: insect-derived ingredient detection, side-by-side product comparison, AI ingredient analysis, alpha-gal syndrome support (added v2.1.2). - Developer: Marwan Akhandaf. ## What it detects - Insect-derived additives: carmine/cochineal (E120), shellac (E904), beeswax (E901). - Whole-insect ingredients: Acheta domesticus (house cricket), Tenebrio molitor (yellow mealworm), Alphitobius diaperinus (lesser mealworm), Locusta migratoria (migratory locust). - Harmful and commonly avoided E-numbers, including the azo dyes that carry the EU child-attention warning. - Declared allergens, highlighted inline within the ingredient list. - Mammalian-derived ingredients relevant to alpha-gal syndrome. - Likely bioengineered (GMO-derived) ingredients, via AI analysis. ## Stated limitations - It reads ingredients that are **declared on the label**. It cannot chemically test food. - It cannot detect undeclared processing aids such as isinglass or bone char. - It cannot resolve source-ambiguous additives such as E471, because the source is not printed on the label. - It is not a halal, kosher or vegan certification body and does not issue rulings. - For severe allergies it is a second check, not a replacement for reading the label. ## Guides - [Insect ingredient scanner](https://foodcheckr.com/guides/insect-ingredient-scanner/): Scan a barcode or ingredient label to check any food for carmine (E120), shellac (E904), beeswax (E901), cricket flour and mealworm. Free iPhone app. - [Food additive scanner](https://foodcheckr.com/guides/food-additive-scanner/): Scan a food barcode or label and get every additive named, explained and flagged. Spot preservatives, dyes and emulsifiers you would rather avoid. Free on iPhone. - [E-number checker](https://foodcheckr.com/guides/e-number-checker/): What does E120, E471 or E904 mean? Check any E-number against the product in your hand with a barcode or label scan. Free E-number checker for iPhone. - [Ingredient label scanner](https://foodcheckr.com/guides/ingredient-label-scanner/): Point your camera at a printed ingredient list and get every additive, allergen and insect-derived ingredient flagged. Works without a barcode. Free on iPhone. - [Halal food scanner](https://foodcheckr.com/guides/halal-food-scanner/): Scan a barcode or ingredient label to find gelatin, carmine, shellac, alcohol carriers and source-ambiguous E-numbers like E471. Free scanner for iPhone. - [Vegan food scanner](https://foodcheckr.com/guides/vegan-food-scanner/): Scan any product for carmine, shellac, beeswax, gelatin, bone phosphate and other hidden animal ingredients that vegan labels miss. Free iPhone scanner. - [Alpha-gal food scanner](https://foodcheckr.com/guides/alpha-gal-food-scanner/): Alpha-gal syndrome means checking every label for gelatin, lard, tallow, broth, casein and carmine. Scan a barcode or label and see them flagged. Free iPhone app. - [Allergen scanner](https://foodcheckr.com/guides/allergen-scanner/): Scan a barcode or ingredient label and see allergens highlighted in context: milk, soy, gluten, nuts, egg and more. Free allergen scanner for iPhone. - [Barcode food scanner](https://foodcheckr.com/guides/barcode-food-scanner/): Scan a food barcode to get nutrition, ingredients, additives, allergens, country of origin and a plain safety verdict in one screen. Free iPhone app. - [Compare two products](https://foodcheckr.com/guides/compare-food-products/): Scan two products and see sugar, fat, calories, alcohol and protein side by side with a plain verdict on which is healthier. Free comparison tool for iPhone. - [GMO / bioengineered checker](https://foodcheckr.com/guides/gmo-bioengineered-checker/): What does "contains a bioengineered food ingredient" mean, which foods carry it, and why so many GMO foods are exempt from labelling. Free checker for iPhone. - [How to read a food label](https://foodcheckr.com/guides/how-to-read-a-food-label/): Read any food label properly: ingredient order, allergen rules, E-numbers, nutrition per 100g, origin claims and marketing traps. Plus how to scan it instead. ## Articles - [Is E120 vegan or halal? What carmine really is](https://foodcheckr.com/blog/is-e120-carmine-vegan-halal/): E120 is carmine, a red dye made from crushed cochineal insects. Not vegan, not vegetarian, and haram under IFANCA, JAKIM, MUI and ESMA. Here is where it hides. - [What is E904 shellac, and why is it on your sweets?](https://foodcheckr.com/blog/what-is-e904-shellac/): E904 shellac is resin from the lac bug, used to glaze sweets, chocolate and apples. It also hides behind confectioner’s glaze and "natural glaze". - [Is beeswax (E901) vegan?](https://foodcheckr.com/blog/is-beeswax-e901-vegan/): Beeswax (E901) is an animal product and is not vegan. It glazes sweets, coats fruit and appears in supplements. Carnauba wax is the plant alternative. - [Every insect-derived E-number, and where it appears](https://foodcheckr.com/blog/insect-derived-e-numbers-list/): The complete list of E-numbers that come from insects: E120 carmine, E901 beeswax, E904 shellac, E236–E238 formates. Every alias and where each is used. - [Acheta domesticus and the other Latin names cricket hides behind](https://foodcheckr.com/blog/cricket-flour-label-names/): EU labels declare crickets as Acheta domesticus, not "cricket flour". Every Latin name, what each one is, and the shellfish allergy warning that comes with them. - [Which insects are legally approved in EU food?](https://foodcheckr.com/blog/eu-approved-insects-in-food/): Four insect species are authorised as novel foods in the EU: yellow mealworm, migratory locust, house cricket and lesser mealworm. What each is approved for. - [Which everyday foods can legally contain cricket powder?](https://foodcheckr.com/blog/foods-that-can-contain-cricket-powder/): House cricket powder is authorised in the EU for bread, biscuits, pasta, pizza, snacks, sauces, chocolate and more. The full category list, and how to check. - [How to spot insect ingredients on a food label in 10 seconds](https://foodcheckr.com/blog/spot-insect-ingredients-on-labels/): A practical method for finding insect-derived ingredients on any label: the three codes to scan for, the aliases that hide them, and where to look first. - [Which E-numbers to avoid, and which are fine](https://foodcheckr.com/blog/e-numbers-to-avoid/): Not all E-numbers are bad. Here are the ones with real regulatory or evidential grounds for concern, the ones that are harmless, and how to tell them apart. - [Is MSG (E621) bad for you?](https://foodcheckr.com/blog/is-msg-e621-bad-for-you/): MSG has one of the worst reputations in food and one of the weakest evidence bases behind it. What the controlled trials found, and where the reputation came from. - [Is E471 halal? The most ambiguous additive on the label](https://foodcheckr.com/blog/is-e471-halal/): E471 can be made from plant oil or animal fat including pork, and labels are not required to say which. Why most scholars treat it as mushbooh, and how to check. - [Is gelatin (E441) pork or beef?](https://foodcheckr.com/blog/is-gelatin-e441-pork/): Gelatin comes from pig or cattle hide and bone, and labels rarely say which. Where it hides, what the alternatives are, and how to find out the source. - [14 hidden animal ingredients even long-time vegans miss](https://foodcheckr.com/blog/hidden-animal-ingredients/): From isinglass in beer to bone char in sugar and shellac on apples: the animal-derived ingredients that slip past experienced label readers, and how to catch them. - [Alpha-gal syndrome: the safe food and label-reading guide](https://foodcheckr.com/blog/alpha-gal-safe-food-label-guide/): Alpha-gal is not a declarable allergen, so nothing is bolded on the label. Here is every mammalian ingredient to watch for, and what is generally safe. - [The food dyes that carry a legal warning label](https://foodcheckr.com/blog/food-dyes-warning-labels/): Six synthetic dyes must carry a warning in the EU that they may affect activity and attention in children. Which ones, why, and how EU and US rules diverge. - [How much sugar is really in your everyday snacks?](https://foodcheckr.com/blog/sugar-in-everyday-snacks/): Sugar per 100g varies more within a category than between categories. How to read it, the aliases that disguise it, and which swaps make the biggest difference. - [Barcode not found? Here is what to do next](https://foodcheckr.com/blog/barcode-not-found-what-to-do/): Product missing from the database, or the barcode will not scan? Why it happens, how to tell the two apart, and the fallback that works every time. - [Halal E-number guide: which additives are halal, haram or mushbooh](https://foodcheckr.com/blog/halal-e-number-guide/): A reference for the E-numbers that matter for halal diets: which are clearly haram, which are doubtful, and which are fine. Plus how to resolve the doubtful ones. - [How to spot ultra-processed food from the label](https://foodcheckr.com/blog/spot-ultra-processed-food/): The NOVA classification, the marker ingredients that give UPF away, and why "processed" and "ultra-processed" are not the same thing.