Vegetarians - iPhone App Scans Ingredient Label for Hidden Animal Products (Video)

image via Vegetarian Scanner iTunes page

Food labels are confusing and if you're vegetarian or vegan, you might unknowingly be eating animal products simply because you don't understand the ingredient list. But have no fear - a new iPhone app is here to help you. Just scan in the label and find out which of the mysterious words actually mean "animal product."

Gizmodo writes that developer Faizal Mohammed created two iPhone apps, one for veggies, and one for those who only eat halal food.

You just take a photo of the ingredients list. The app scans the list and it identifies the ingredients, checks them against a database of veggie and halal foods, and alerts you if you're consuming something that isn't so savory.

Unfortunatly, you'll have to have an iPhone 3GS, since you have to have autofocus on your camera to make sure the photo is legible to the scanner. if you don't have a 3GS, you can still check out the database.

Recombu states Faizal tailored the app to only read additives because it's less complicated than scanning the entire label. However, more ingredients are going to be added to the searchable database.

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Tags: Electronics | Food Safety | iPhone