Thelabelknows.
Nowyoudo.
A free, open-source scanner that reads the back of the packet out loud, in plain language, for the food actually on Indian shelves.
Thebackofeverypacketalreadytellsyoueverything.Inseven-pointtype.Ingramsyoucan'tpicture.Gradedforanaveragepersonwhoisn'tyou.TrueLabelreadsitthewayafriendwhoknowsfoodwould:outloud,inteaspoons,andonlyeverwithyourrules.
Built for everyday Indian packaged foods: Aloo bhujia, Glucose biscuits, Instant noodles, Packaged lassi, Masala oats, Peanut chikki, Mango fruit drink, Namkeen mix, Malt drink, Digestive biscuits, Ready idli batter, Cream biscuits, Paneer tikka masala mix, Chai premix, Nimbu pani, Khakhra.
00/The data
01 / 04
Thousands of labels, scattered.
Every packet on every shelf is a point of data nobody has gathered.
01/The problem
Labels are written to be skimmed past.
Not with lies. With serving sizes that don't match the pack, claims that mean nothing, and numbers that never become a decision.
- 01
Seven-point type is a design decision.
Serving sizes that don't match the pack. “No added sugar” printed beside 26 g of it from concentrate. INS numbers nobody explains. The label technically tells you everything. It just isn't written to be understood in the two seconds you give it in the aisle.
शुद्ध शाकाहारीNutrition information
Per 100 g · Approx. values*
Energy 459 kcal Protein 9.8 g Carbohydrate 61.0 g of which sugars 2.1 g Total fat 19.0 g Saturated fat 9.3 g Trans fat 0.1 g Sodium 1457 mg Ingredients: Refined wheat flour (maida), palm oil, iodised salt, sugar, spices & condiments, acidity regulators (INS 330, INS 501(i)), flavour enhancers (INS 627, INS 631), thickener (INS 508), colour (INS 150d). Contains wheat, soy, milk solids. May contain traces of peanut and tree nuts.
Net Qty: 70 gMRP ₹14.00 (incl. of all taxes)Best before 9 months from packaging*Serving size 70 gSodium, per pack1,020 mgabout half your day - 02
One score doesn't fit your body.
A green “healthy” badge means nothing if you're managing blood sugar, blood pressure or dairy. Generic apps grade the packet for an average person who doesn't exist. Nobody grades it for you.
Masala oats · 40 g servea generic app says: healthyArjun, 24, trains most daysFine · 8 g proteinMeera, 51, watching blood pressureCareful · 640 mg sodiumSame packet. Two honest answers.
- 03
Indian products barely exist in the databases.
Search a global nutrition app for the bhujia, the local dairy's lassi or the paneer tikka masala mix and you get a shrug, or a US product with different numbers. The data isn't wrong. It's missing.
A global nutrition app
Search:
No results. Did you mean “potato chips”?
TrueLabel
Search:
- Aloo bhujia, 200 g · verified
- Aloo bhujia, 42 g · verified
- Aloo bhujia, 1 kg · in review
02/How it works
01 / 03
Scan.
Point the camera at the barcode. If we've seen the packet, the facts are on screen before you've put it back. If not, you're first: a photo of the label and a minute of your time, and the next person in that aisle gets the answer.
Point at a barcode_
03/Free & Premium
Free is the product. Premium keeps it that way.
Everything you need to read a label is free, forever, in the open. Premium is for people who want the app to remember them, and it's what pays for the free tier.
Found · verified
Mango fruit drink
1 pack · 200 ml
≈ 6 teaspoons · 52% of a 50 g day
One small pack is about six teaspoons of sugar. Half the day's 50 g, gone.
Meera, 51, Bengaluru. Watching sodium since her doctor said so. Her scan of the same masala oats leads with 640 mg sodium, not 8 g protein.
That's the whole of Premium: the app remembers what you told it, and says the important thing first. It never sells what you told it, and it never hides the label from anyone who didn't pay.
- Free
- ₹0 / always
- Premium
- optional · price not set yet
| Included | Free | Premium |
|---|---|---|
| Unlimited scansNo account. Point, scan, read. | ||
| The whole databaseEvery product, every verified label. | ||
| Plain-language nutritionTeaspoons, share of your day, additives explained. | ||
| Community verificationConfirm labels, dispute mistakes, add products. | ||
| Source code, Apache-2.0Read how a number is calculated. Fork it if you disagree. | ||
| Health profileTell it what you're watching; those flags come first. | — | |
| Same-shelf alternativesWhat's next to it that fits your profile better. | — | |
| Trends over timeWhat you actually scan and buy, month over month. | — | |
| White-labelThe scanner under a clinic's, gym's or brand's name. | — |
04/Built in the open
One label, read properly.
This is the back of a ₹14 instant noodle packet, set exactly as printed. On the right, what TrueLabel says about it. Every number on the left is public; every sentence on the right comes from code you can read.
Nutrition information
Per 100 g · Approx. values*
| Energy | 459 kcal |
| Protein | 9.8 g |
| Carbohydrate | 61.0 g |
| of which sugars | 2.1 g |
| Total fat | 19.0 g |
| Saturated fat | 9.3 g |
| Trans fat | 0.1 g |
| Sodium | 1457 mg |
Ingredients: Refined wheat flour (maida), palm oil, iodised salt, sugar, spices & condiments, acidity regulators (INS 330, INS 501(i)), flavour enhancers (INS 627, INS 631), thickener (INS 508), colour (INS 150d). Contains wheat, soy, milk solids. May contain traces of peanut and tree nuts.
What the scan says
- Sodium, per 70 g pack
- 1,020 mgabout half of a 2,000 mg day
- Saturated fat, per pack
- 6.5 ga third of a 20 g day
- INS 627 + 631
- flavour enhancersthe “umami” in the masala
- INS 150d
- caramel colourwhat makes it brown
Illustrative packet. Values are in the normal range for the category; the real database shows the real photo beside them.
Why this exists
I started TrueLabel because the two apps on my phone could tell me about a Kansas granola bar and nothing about the bhujia in my hand. The label was right there. It just needed reading.
It's one person and a public repo right now. The database only works if it isn't. Add a packet, fix a number, or read the scoring code and tell me where it's wrong.
Things TrueLabel will not do
- 01Sell your scans, or anything else about you.
- 02Put an ad between you and a label.
- 03Hide how a number is calculated.
- 04Lock the database behind a paywall.
- 05Quietly change the licence.
- Written into the licence and the code, not just this page. If we ever break one, the fork is one click away. That is the point of Apache-2.0.
Start knowing what you eat.
The iOS app is in early access on GitHub. Star the repo to follow the first release, or open an issue with the product you wish it knew about.
Move across the barcode