Label LanternComing soon for iPhone

Sources and methodology

Clear about what
the app knows.

Label Lantern separates recognised label text, additive identity, plain-language explanation and regional evidence. This page documents the current pre-launch seed catalogue and its limits.

The current method

From a photograph to a reviewable explanation.

  1. 01
    Recognise the ingredient text on the device.

    Apple Vision reads a still image. You can check and correct that text before matching.

  2. 02
    Match only supported identifiers and names.

    A deterministic matcher checks the bundled catalogue for supported INS numbers, E-numbers and unambiguous names.

  3. 03
    Keep identity and regional context separate.

    The additive identity does not change when you choose a region. The app selects only the reviewed record for that region.

  4. 04
    Show provenance and uncertainty.

    Source links, review dates and coverage limits stay with the result. Missing evidence is shown as unverified rather than inferred from another region.

Named authorities

Six regional views.
No borrowed conclusions.

The current 15-record seed is deliberately limited. It is not a complete additive dictionary and does not reproduce every legal condition.

Australia and New Zealand

Food Standards Australia New Zealand

Schedule-based regional records link to the current reviewed Australian legislation source.

Visit FSANZ
European Union

European Commission

Current seed records remain explicitly unverified where the individual database evidence could not be retrieved during review.

Open the additives database
Great Britain

Food Standards Agency

Records use the FSA regulated-products food-authorisations data for England, Scotland and Wales.

Open FSA data
United States

U.S. Food and Drug Administration

Records link to the FDA Substances Added to Food inventory or current applicable source.

Open the FDA inventory
Canada

Health Canada

Records link to Health Canada’s Lists of Permitted Food Additives and preserve unresolved scope as a limitation.

Open the permitted lists
International

Codex Alimentarius Commission

International identity and functional context uses the FAO/WHO Codex General Standard for Food Additives database.

Open Codex GSFA

What the status means

Evidence is described, not overstated.

Listed with conditions means the reviewed source contains the additive, but permissions can still depend on food category, amount, specification and use.

Not found in the reviewed source does not mean prohibited.

Regionally unverified means the current seed does not have enough reviewed evidence to make a regional statement. International information may still be shown and is identified as such.

Scope and freshness

A review snapshot, not a legal promise.

Seed coverage

The release candidate currently documents 15 supported additive identities. Coverage may change before launch and will be rechecked against the release build.

Reviewed dates

The current catalogue sources and regional records were reviewed on 5 October 2026. Dates describe the review snapshot, not legal commencement.

Product limits

A recognised additive does not establish product compliance, nutritional quality, medical safety or individual suitability.

Update discipline

Catalogue changes require source provenance, a review date and explicit coverage limits. Stale or unresolved evidence should remain visible rather than silently inferred.

Last reviewed: 6 October 2026

See how the evidence appears in the app.

The scanner keeps recognised text, explanations and source context in one flow.

How Label Lantern works