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AlergiScan

Data sources and credits

Last updated: October 23, 2026

Draft under review. This document is not the final version yet.

Non-binding draft. Working document. It is not legal advice. It must be reviewed and validated by a licensed attorney in the applicable jurisdiction before it is published. [PENDIENTE: legal-compliance. Remove this block only once an attorney validates the document.]

This is a courtesy translation. The Spanish version is the one that governs.

AlergiScan compares each product's information with the allergens in your profiles. This page explains where that information comes from, who we credit, what its limits are and how you can download a copy of our product database.

1. Where the data comes from

Our product database combines two sources:

  • Open Food Facts. Most products come from Open Food Facts, an open, collaborative food database with information contributed by volunteers. It is published by the non-profit association Open Food Facts, at 21 rue des Iles, 94100 Saint-Maur-des-Fossés, France. Open Food Facts is not part of AlergiScan and doesn't review our results.
  • The AlergiScan team. Our team enters some products that aren't in Open Food Facts and corrects others. In the web app, those products show the note "Data reviewed by the AlergiScan team." (in Spanish, «Datos revisados por el equipo de AlergiScan.»).

How they are combined

  • When a product has data entered or corrected by our team, that data takes priority and Open Food Facts updates no longer change it.
  • When a product only has Open Food Facts data, we keep a copy. If someone checks it and our copy is more than 30 days old, we update it with what Open Food Facts has at that moment; if Open Food Facts doesn't respond, we use the previous copy.
  • If a product isn't in our database or in Open Food Facts, the result is "Not enough information".

How we use this data to give you a result is explained in section 4 of the Terms and conditions.

2. Limits of this data

Open Food Facts warns that its information is only indicative, may contain errors and must not be used for medical purposes. Its terms say those warnings and its limitations of liability also apply to anyone who reuses its data: to AlergiScan, and to you if you download our copy.

Our own data may contain errors too. And manufacturers can change a recipe or package at any time. That's why:

  • AlergiScan is a support tool. It isn't a medical service and doesn't replace advice from your doctor or allergist.
  • Always read the package label before eating. The label in your hand has the final say.
  • "Not enough information" doesn't mean "Safe".

3. Open Food Facts credits and licences

When a result or your history shows data or photos that come from Open Food Facts, or derive from it, we say so right there: "Data and photos: Open Food Facts (data ODbL, photos CC BY-SA)", with links to the product's page on Open Food Facts, the licences and this page.

4. Our product database is open

Because our product database combines Open Food Facts data with our team's corrections and entries, it is a derivative database. So we offer it under the same licence, the ODbL 1.0, with its contents under the DbCL 1.0. You can download it for free, use it, adapt it and share it, including for commercial purposes, as long as you meet its conditions. In short:

  • Attribution: mention that the data comes from AlergiScan and Open Food Facts, and include a link to the ODbL and to openfoodfacts.org.
  • Share-alike: if you publish a database derived from this one, offer it under the ODbL too.
  • Keep it open: if you distribute it with technical restrictions, also offer a copy without them.
  • Photos: the file doesn't include photos, only the link to the photo on Open Food Facts. If you reuse one, credit Open Food Facts and respect the CC BY-SA 3.0 licence.

This summary doesn't replace the licences: their full texts, linked above, govern. The licences cover product data; they don't give rights over AlergiScan's software, design or brand.

5. Download the copy

Download AlergiScan's product database (gzip-compressed JSON Lines)

Direct address: https://alergiscan.com/api/open-data/products.jsonl.gz

  • Format: an alergiscan-products.jsonl.gz file compressed with gzip. Once decompressed, each line is one product in JSON (JSON Lines, UTF-8). Dates use ISO 8601 (UTC).
  • Updates: the file is generated from the current database and regenerated once it is more than 6 hours old. Because of network caches, the copy you download may take a few more hours to reflect the latest changes. The time it was generated is in the response's Last-Modified header.
  • No data about people: the file has no accounts, allergy profiles, scan history, results or who on our team reviewed a product.

Fields for each product:

  • barcode: barcode.
  • name, brand, quantity: name, brand and net quantity.
  • ingredients_text: ingredient list, as we have it.
  • allergens_contains: allergens declared under «Contiene» ("Contains").
  • allergens_may_contain: allergens declared under «Puede contener» ("May contain").
  • allergens_mentioned_in_ingredients: allergens that only appear in the ingredient list.
  • contains_lactose, is_alcoholic, alcohol_by_volume, is_bulk: whether it declares lactose, whether it's an alcoholic beverage and its strength, and whether it's sold in bulk.
  • has_ingredients, ingredients_complete, completeness: whether it has an ingredient list, whether it's complete, and Open Food Facts' completeness score (0 to 1).
  • source: who holds the current data (alergiscan or open_food_facts).
  • derived_from_open_food_facts, open_food_facts_code, open_food_facts_last_modified: whether it derives from Open Food Facts, its code there and the date it was last modified there.
  • reviewed_by_alergiscan_at: when our team reviewed it, if it did.
  • image_url, image_license: link to the photo on Open Food Facts and its licence (CC-BY-SA-3.0), if there is one.
  • created_at, updated_at: when it was added to and last updated in our database.

Allergens use these codes: crustaceans, molluscs, fish, milk, egg, peanut, treeNuts (tree nuts), soy, gluten (cereals containing gluten), sesame and sulfites.

To reuse the data, use this download or the Open Food Facts database. Don't bulk-extract data from the web app, the apps or their API: section 10 of the Terms and conditions doesn't allow it.

6. Third-party brands and photos

Product brands, names and packaging belong to their owners. A product appearing in our database doesn't mean its manufacturer sponsors or endorses us, or has reviewed its data.

7. If you find a mistake

If a product has wrong or outdated data, or you have questions about these licences, write to us at rodrigo.delatorre91@gmail.com or from the contact page. Tell us the barcode and what the label says. If the product comes from Open Food Facts, you can also correct it directly on their site.

While we review it, go by the package label.