iPhone application to scan for food allergens

Deakin University, GSI Australia and Nestlé are developing an iPhone application that will allow consumers to instantly access detailed product information including allergens such as wheat, egg, peanuts and shellfish directly from their phone.

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, nor understand it,” she said.

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

Associate Professor Chan, an information expert, said the bar-coding system administered by the not-for-profit organisation GS1 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.

GS1 Australia Chief Executive Officer Maria Palazzolo said: “The exploration of mobile technology using the ubiquitous bar code is the next frontier for GS1 Australia.

“There is a tremendous opportunity for GS1 to provide business-to-business applications to engage consumers with business-to-consumer tools.”