Smart Swap
When a product scores low, Grain suggests a better-scoring one from the same category. Free and unlimited when you scan a barcode.
Coming soon to iPhone
The back of the label, read for you.
Scan the barcode on food and drinks, skincare and makeup, supplements, feminine care or cleaning products. Grain explains every ingredient, gives a score out of 100 with the reasons underneath, and shows where the US FDA and the EU stand on the additives it tracks.
- Unlimited scans are free
- No ads, no brand money
- The scoring rules are public
Every ingredient, in plain words.
Ingredient lists run in order of weight and are full of codes. Grain reads the whole list, says what each item is, and rates it Good, Neutral, Caution or Avoid. Below are the points the scorer gives each item on an example label; the app shows their total as the ingredient score.
Ingredients: Rolled oats, sugar, sunflower oil, glucose syrup, salt, soy lecithin, natural flavor.
Contains: soy.
-
Rolled oats
Listed first, so it's the largest ingredient by weight. Rolled oats are on Grain's short list of ingredients that earn a bonus.
+3 -
Sugar
Added sugar counts against the nutrition score. Because it's the second ingredient, it also adds to the processing charge on the ingredient side.
−6 -
Sunflower oil
A refined seed oil. Grain shows it, and flags it if you've added seed oils to your avoid list. There's no penalty for it, because no regulator treats it as a hazard, and on this bar it changes nothing. It does stop a product counting as a simple whole food, so on a short list like salted nuts it can lower the score.
No change -
Glucose syrup
More added sugar, and one of the industrial ingredients that mark a product as ultra-processed. Each of those costs 4 points on the ingredient side, up to 16.
−4 -
Soy lecithin
An emulsifier. It isn't an ingredient of concern, but it's another sign of ultra-processing. If soy is on your allergy list, Grain flags the product for you.
−4 -
Natural flavor
Also counted as a processing marker. It isn't treated as harmful, so there's no penalty beyond that.
−4
Result for this bar: ingredient quality 85, nutrition 62, Grain Score 71 (Good). Salt changes nothing on the ingredient side; its sodium counts on the nutrition side.
A shampoo isn't a cereal.
Grain has five sets of rules: food and drinks, beauty and personal care, supplements, feminine care, and household products. The beauty, feminine care and household rules also weigh ingredients by how you're exposed to them.
Rolled oats
Food94Excellent
Excellent choice
Scored per 100 g
- Rolled oats+3On the short list that earns a bonus
- Simple whole food78+Can't score below 78
How food and drinks are scored
- Nutrition counts for 60% and ingredients for 40%. Solid foods are compared per 100 g, so a small serving size can't make a product look better. The one exception, for now: when a label declares a serving under 1 g, like a pinch of spice, that serving's nutrition is scored as printed rather than scaled to 100 g.
- Drinks are judged per serving, on a stricter sugar scale, with a cap on how sugary each 100 ml can be.
- Simple whole foods (three ingredients or fewer, none hazardous or moderate, no refined seed oil, no added sugar mixed in) never score below 78, so nuts and olive oil aren't punished for being dense. Drinks, cured meats, salt or sugar on its own, and very salty foods with almost no protein or fiber don't get this floor.
Daily body lotion
Beauty84Minor flags
Minor flags
Recognized ingredients only
- Leave-onFull weightA rinse-off product would take half
- Fragrance (parfum)CautionA blend whose allergens aren't named
- Glycerin, panthenolCreditBeneficial ingredients
How beauty and personal care are scored
- Scores start at 100 and lose points for ingredients of concern, weighted by how long they stay on your skin. Rinse-off products like soap and shampoo take half the penalty. Grain tells them apart by the product's name, and a leave-on word such as lotion, serum or moisturizing takes precedence.
- Loose talc you could breathe in is treated as a top-tier precaution; pressed talc isn't. Precautions are labelled as precautions, not as proven harm.
- Instead of "Excellent", non-food scores say how much Grain flagged, from "No flags" to "Serious flags". Grain can only judge the ingredients it recognizes, so a high score isn't a safety or effectiveness rating.
Creatine monohydrate
Supplement100No flags
No flags
Recognized ingredients only
- Creatine monohydrateCreditA well-studied form of the active
- Third-party tested+8Informed Choice seal; already at 100 here
- No fillers or blendClearNothing added, nothing hidden behind a blend name
How supplements are scored
- Judged on formulation, purity and testing, with the dose and daily value shown for each active. A dose above an established upper limit is flagged.
- Third-party testing programs such as NSF, USP and Informed Choice count in a product's favour.
- A "proprietary blend" that hides its doses loses points. A pill that lists no fillers at all is treated as incomplete data, not as clean.
Scented tampons
Feminine care33Many flags
Many flags
Recognized materials only
- Safety capped25One top-tier flag caps ingredient safety at 25
- FragranceTop tierIn an internal product
How feminine care is scored
- The beauty rules, plus an exposure weight: penalties count 1.5 times for internal products like tampons and cups.
- Douches can't score above 40, following ACOG and CDC advice against douching.
- A product that doesn't list its materials shows "Not rated", not a guessed score.
Multi-surface spray
Household52Some flags
Some flags
Provisional: the label is vague
- Vague labelCap 52Only says "surfactants, preservative, fragrance"
- Undisclosed fragranceCautionIts components aren't named
How household products are scored
- Cleaning brands don't have to publish full formulas, so a label that only lists ingredient types is capped at 52. The cap rises as the label gets more specific.
- Sprays and air fresheners weigh 1.5 times because you inhale them. Rinse-off products weigh less.
- Hazard flags name their source, such as the EU's chemical classification list or the US EPA's Safer Choice program.
The math is public.
A food score has two parts: nutrition (60%) and ingredient quality (40%). A simple whole food with no nutrition label, like plain frozen spinach, is the exception and is scored 10% on nutrition and 90% on ingredients. The ingredient side loses points for additives in published tiers and for signs of heavy processing, and gains a few for ingredients like oats, lentils or olive oil.
The panel is the worked example from Grain's methodology, line by line. Every weight and tier is published. The few rules that are Grain's own judgement calls, like treating synthetic dyes and artificial flavors as avoid-tier, are marked as stances rather than presented as settled science.
Score Facts
Sweetened corn-flake cereal (illustrative)
Scored per100 g
Label serving 40 g: 150 kcal, 13 g added sugar, 190 mg sodium
- Nutrition quality60% of the score · per 100 g: 32.5 g added sugar, 475 mg sodium
- 32
- Ingredient quality40% · BHT, moderate tier −10 · sugar second on the list −6
- 84
- 32 × 0.6 + 84 × 0.4 = 52.8
- 53
- Floors and caps
- none apply
Grain Score53 / 100 · Okay
Scores are estimates. When a packaged food has no usable nutrition label, the app says "Not rated" instead of guessing. Only simple whole foods are scored without one.
The rules change at the border.
The same additive can be allowed in one country and banned in the next. For the additives it tracks, Grain shows the US (FDA) and EU status side by side, marks the one closest to where you live, and names the countries that ban it. The score itself is the same everywhere.
Potassium bromate
Flour improver in some breads
AllowedUnited States: The FDA has asked bakers to stop using it since 1991. California bans it from 2027.
Not allowedEuropean Union: Not an approved food additive.
Titanium dioxide (E171)
White colouring in sweets and icing
AllowedUnited States: Permitted as a colour additive. The FDA is reviewing its use in food.
Not allowedEuropean Union: Banned as a food additive since 2022.
Allura Red (Red 40, E129)
Red colouring in drinks and snacks
AllowedUnited States: No warning required on the label.
Warning labelEuropean Union: Packs must say it may affect activity and attention in children.
- United States FDA status
- European Union EU status, including Ireland
- United Kingdom EU status shown; Great Britain may differ
- Switzerland EU status shown
- Canada FDA status shown as the closest reference
- Australia & New Zealand FDA status shown as the closest reference
Status as of September 2026. In the app, ingredient entries link to the regulator or study behind them where one exists.
After the scan.
The score is the start. These are the parts of the app you'll use between shopping trips.
Recent FDA recalls
In the US, Home shows the latest active FDA food recalls. They aren't matched to what you've scanned yet, so Grain doesn't send recall notifications. Free for everyone.
Recipe changes
Brands change formulas without telling you. When Grain confirms a change, the product's page shows what was added or removed, the date, and the old and new score when both are known. Products in your history that changed after you scanned them are marked "Reformulated since your scan". With Premium you can also get a notification when a product you scanned or saved in the last year changes its ingredients.
People you shop for
Add the people you shop for with their allergies and avoid lists. On each product page, Grain checks the product against everyone's allergies, on your phone. Switch to "Viewing as" one person to check it against their full list, avoid list included.
Ask Grain Premium
Ask about a product, an ingredient or a news story. Each chat notes that answers are AI-generated and not medical advice, and when the main Ask Grain assistant looks up research on a health question, it lists its sources. Free accounts get one conversation of each kind every 30 days.
Missing a label? Take a photo
If a product shows "Not rated" because its nutrition label is missing, photograph the front and the label. Grain reads them, tells you when the score is ready, and the next person who scans it gets it too.
Also in the app
- Search Find any product in Grain's catalogue by name or brand, free. Premium When Grain doesn't have it yet, AI search looks for it on the web.
- Explore and Photo Identify Premium AI-suggested products for each category, with your allergens filtered out, or photograph a product that has no barcode.
- Rules side by side See how the US (FDA) and the EU (EFSA, or the SCCS for cosmetics) rate a product's ingredients, and which countries ban them.
- Your stores Check which of the stores you pick carry a product.
- Reviews Read and write reviews of products with other shoppers.
- Insights Your scanning score, the best and worst of your week, and ingredients to look out for.
- Learn and News Short articles and an ingredient glossary in Learn, plus AI-written health news on your Home screen: new articles every day, filtered to your region, each with its sources.
- History and favourites Everything you've scanned, synced to your account, with a score card you can share.
Free to scan. Premium if you want more.
Free
$0
- Unlimited barcode scans, with the full score and breakdown
- Search Grain's catalogue by name, with no limit
- Smart Swap by barcode, with no limit
- Allergy and avoid-list checks, for you and the people you shop for
- Insights, News, and recent US FDA recalls on Home
- One free use of each Premium feature every 30 days (AI search and Explore share one)
Premium
$39.99 per year
or $4.99 a month. New subscribers get the first 7 days free, then the plan renews until you cancel.
- Everything in Free
- Ask Grain about any product, ingredient or news story
- AI search, Explore and Photo Identify
- Smart Swap by photo or search
- A notification when a product you scanned or saved changes its ingredients
Billed by Apple. Prices shown in US dollars; the App Store shows your local price. Cancel anytime in Settings > your name > Subscriptions. AI features have daily fair-use limits on every plan. Pricing details
Questions
Is the score medical advice?
No. It's information to help you compare products. Read the label, and talk to a doctor or dietitian about health decisions.
Does AI decide the score?
No. Scores come from the fixed rules on the methodology page. AI reads labels from photos, fills gaps in product data, explains ingredients and answers questions. When the AI flags an ingredient the rules don't list yet, that flag can lower the ingredient side of the score, and the methodology says by how much.
Will my score be different from a friend's?
No. Everyone sees the same score for a product. If your preferences move it, the app shows the change next to the score and labels it as yours. If a product contains one of your allergens, Grain flags it instead.
Which rules does Grain use?
Grain holds ingredient status data from two regulators: the US FDA and the EU (EFSA for food, the SCCS for cosmetics). In the EU, including Ireland, you see the EU status as yours. In the UK and Switzerland Grain shows the EU status and says so, and for the UK it notes that Great Britain may differ. In Canada, Australia and New Zealand it shows the FDA status as the closest reference. In every region Grain also flags ingredients that a specific country bans. Cleaning products and period products don't have regulatory status in Grain yet. You pick your region when you set up the app and can change it later.
Which products does Grain not rate?
Alcohol, tobacco, pet food, infant formula and products sold as pesticides show "Not rated". So does a packaged food whose nutrition label is missing, fails Grain's checks or was only estimated, or whose ingredient list can't be read, and a beauty, supplement, feminine care or household product with no ingredient list, or only an estimated one. So does an antiperspirant, sunscreen or fluoride toothpaste whose list leaves out its active ingredient. Photographing the label can fix the missing-label cases. A simple whole food with no label, like fruit or plain oats, is still scored on its ingredients.
Do I need an account?
Yes, a free one. It keeps your history and settings in sync and keeps track of free uses. You can sign in with Apple or with an email address.
What happens to my data?
It isn't sold and isn't used for ads. You can download it or delete your account from the app at any time. The privacy policy lists every service that receives data and what it gets.
What if Grain doesn't have my product, or can't rate it?
If a product shows "Not rated" because its nutrition label is missing, photograph the front and the label. Grain reads them and tells you when the product has a score. You can also email the barcode to contact@grainios.com.
Grain is coming to iPhone.
Leave your email. Grain emails you to confirm it, then once more when the app is on the App Store.