Here you will find answers to the most common questions regarding the usage and technology behind EuroScan.
EuroScan is a free web application that allows consumers to scan food barcodes to immediately learn whether a product originates from European production or was manufactured by a global overseas conglomerate.
The app uses a hybrid approach. When a barcode is scanned, we first check the GS1 country prefix. Then we cross-reference the product with our own database and Open Food Facts. If no clear origin data exists, our artificial intelligence (DeepSeek API) analyzes the manufacturer's name and its parent company structure.
Querying the AI interfaces to determine origin generates server costs per scan. To offer EuroScan completely free, a fair-use limit of 5 scans per device per day applies if an ad blocker is active. If you allow advertisements, the limit is automatically increased to up to 100 scans per day.
Your privacy is our top priority. We do not collect personal data. To enforce the scan limit, an anonymous UUID is stored locally in your browser. GPS location tracking is completely optional and is immediately rounded on the server to an accuracy of approx. 1.1 km (anonymized), making it impossible to pinpoint your precise location.
Because datasets and supply chains change constantly, products can occasionally be misclassified. In this case, you can click on "Report error" directly in the scan results within the app, allowing our editors to manually verify and correct the entry.