Allergy sufferers will soon be able to use their iPhone to scan a food’s barcode at the supermarket to determine whether it’s safe to eat.

The application being developed by Deakin University, GSI Australia and Nestlé, will allow consumers to instantly access detailed product information including allergens such as wheat, egg, peanuts and shellfish directly from their iPhone.

Deakin University’s Associate Professor Caroline Chan said the application would help consumers make quick yet informed choices about their health.

“When you read a label the product information is so small you can barely read it, or understand it,” she said.

“In Australia all packaged food products carry a barcode but its use is limited to inventory control and to settle purchases at the cash register.”

Associate Professor Chan, an information expert said the barcoding system administered by the not-for-profit organisation, GSI Australia, had ‘unlimited potential’ as it contained valuable product data such as weights, volumes packaging material and price.

“We wanted to really harness all this information on the bar-coding system and team it up with detailed product information provided by Nestlé to give consumers a tool that had the potential to improve their health and raise public awareness,” she said.

Associate Professor Chan said initial testing of the application had been encouraging and the next step was to seek funding for a consumer trial.

She was confident the application would be expanded to appeal to people on special diets or those with specific nutritional needs.


Source: Press release