iOS app · Free download
Know what's in your food.
The UK's honest UPF scanner for iPhone — scan any barcode for an instant ultra-processed (NOVA) check and a 0–100 score.
Eat & Go
Chicken Fajita With Cheddar cheese
35
Moderate
Health score · 35/100
Ultra-processed · NOVA 4
9 additives found. Cull names every one.
Not medical advice — see disclaimers.
No brand pays for a score.
No sponsored placements, no paid rankings, no partnerships that move a number. The score is the score.
We show our maths.
Every score opens into the calculation behind it — nutrition, additive risk and processing, with the ingredients that triggered the verdict.
See how scoring worksWe hedge when the science does.
NOVA coding is not a solved problem — trained evaluators agree only fairly (Braesco 2022, κ≈0.32–0.34). Where a call is genuinely borderline, Cull says so instead of inventing certainty.
Read the NOVA guideStep 1 · Scan
Point it at anything with a barcode.
Standard UPC and EAN codes. No barcode? Search by name, or let AI Vision identify the product from the packaging.
Step 2 · Verdict
The verdict, before the checkout.
A meal-deal wrap, scanned: ultra-processed, NOVA 4, nine additives — flagged in the time it takes to reach the till.
Step 3 · Why
See exactly why it scored 35.
Nutrition sets the base. Additive risk and processing adjust it. Every step of the calculation is visible in the app, with sources.
Step 4 · You
Your allergens, flagged first.
Milk and gluten from your profile, caught before the basket — with an honest caveat: always check the actual packaging.
Step 5 · Real food
When food is just food, it says so.
A bag of Jazz apples: unprocessed, NOVA 1, 85 out of 100. No fear-mongering — high scores are the point of scanning.
Health Score
One number. The whole truth.
Most apps flag 'ultra-processed' and stop. Cull scores the full picture — how nutritious it is, whether the additives are safe, and how processed it is — so a fortified wholegrain bread isn't damned like a cola. The formula is transparent: you can see every calculation inside the app.
Nutritional Quality
Good stuff vs. bad stuff. Protein, fibre, and vitamins weighed against sugar, sodium, and saturated fat.
Additive Safety
Every additive checked against scientific safety databases. Harmful chemicals and allergens drag the score down.
Processing Level
How far is this from real food? Ultra-processed products receive significantly lower scores.
A sugary cereal typically lands around 41 (NOVA 4, high added sugar). Plain porridge oats land near 74 (minimally processed, high fibre).
Multiple Ways to Scan
Always finds the product.
Barcode won't scan? No problem. Cull always finds a way.
Barcode
Point at any barcode. Instant lookup.
Search by name
Type a product name to find it instantly. Free.
AI Vision (Pro)
Point your camera — AI identifies the product, no barcode needed.
The five-second habit
The check happens before it goes in the basket.
Pick it up, scan the barcode, get the verdict. Cull reads the ingredient list on the back so you do not have to squint at it.
See what happens after the scanTry it — no download
Type a barcode. Get the real verdict.
Take anything out of your cupboard and enter the number under its barcode. This is the same scoring the app uses — not a demo.
Or try:
Product data from Open Food Facts and community submissions. Scores can change as a product's data improves.
Pick two. Compare in seconds.
Two cereals, both look healthy on the front of the box.
Own-brand
Wholegrain flakes
Whole grain first · short ingredient list
Own-brand
Frosted choco rings
Refined grain · syrup, colours, flavourings
Same shelf. Very different scores.
78
Wholegrain flakes
32
Frosted choco rings
Illustrative example. Compare any two products in your basket and the score difference does the talking.
More Features
Everything you need.
Personalisation
Dietary profiles, 8 restrictions, 8 health goals. Scores personalised to your goals.
Allergen Tracking
Flag ingredients that affect you. Get warned before you buy.
Healthier Alternatives
Found something unhealthy? Cull suggests better options instantly.
AI Chat
Ask anything about any ingredient. Get a plain English answer with cited sources.
Community Database
Missing product? Add it in seconds. Every scan widens coverage for everyone.
Privacy First
Sign in with Apple. Scan history stays on your device. We never sell your data.
Comparison
Cull vs Yuka, honestly.
Both apps score nutrition and additive safety heavily. The difference is the last slice — Yuka rewards organic; Cull scores how ultra-processed (UPF/NOVA) your food is. So a fortified wholegrain bread isn't damned like a cola.
Processing level (NOVA) in score
YesCull
NoYuka
Healthier alternatives
YesCull
YesYuka
Country-aware alternatives
YesCull
NoYuka
AI nutritionist chat
YesCull
NoYuka
AI ingredient analysis
YesCull
NoYuka
Per-product score breakdown
YesCull
NoYuka
Dietary & allergen alerts
YesCull
YesYuka
Custom health goals & thresholds
YesCull
NoYuka
Free barcode scanning
YesCull
YesYuka
| Feature | Cull | Yuka |
|---|---|---|
| Processing level (NOVA) in score | Yes | No |
| Healthier alternatives | Yes | Yes |
| Country-aware alternatives | Yes | No |
| AI nutritionist chat | Yes | No |
| AI ingredient analysis | Yes | No |
| Per-product score breakdown | Yes | No |
| Dietary & allergen alerts | Yes | Yes |
| Custom health goals & thresholds | Yes | No |
| Free barcode scanning | Yes | Yes |
* Yuka features evaluated March 2026 from yuka.io and help.yuka.io. Features may have changed since.
FAQ
Straight answers.
- What is a UPF (ultra-processed food)?
- Ultra-processed foods are industrial formulations made mostly from substances derived from foods — things like protein isolates, modified starches and hydrogenated oils — plus additives such as flavourings, colours, emulsifiers and sweeteners. Think soft drinks, packaged snacks, most supermarket sliced bread and many ready meals. Ultra-processed and unhealthy are correlated, not synonymous — some UPFs are nutritionally reasonable.
- What is the NOVA classification?
- NOVA is a framework developed by Carlos Monteiro and colleagues at the University of São Paulo that groups foods by the extent and purpose of industrial processing, not by nutrients. It has four groups, from unprocessed (group 1) to ultra-processed (group 4). It is useful but not infallible — even expert coders disagree on borderline products. Our NOVA classification guide explains all four groups.
- Is Cull free on iPhone?
- Yes. Barcode scanning, health scores, processing breakdowns and healthier alternatives cost nothing. Pro adds AI features for people who want to go deeper — the core experience is free and always will be.
- How is Cull different from Yuka?
- Both apps score nutrition and additive safety heavily. The difference is the last slice — Yuka rewards organic, while Cull scores how ultra-processed (NOVA) your food is, and Cull is built for UK shoppers first. See the full Cull vs Yuka comparison.
- Does Cull work with UK products?
- Yes — Cull is built for the UK first. Cull's community-built database starts from Open Food Facts and grows with every submission, so it covers the shelves at Tesco, Sainsbury's, Aldi, Lidl, Waitrose and the rest. If a product is missing, you can add it from the app.
Is bread ultra-processed?Is oat milk ultra-processed?Is protein powder ultra-processed?Is hummus ultra-processed?Is cheese ultra-processed?Is breakfast cereal ultra-processed?Is yoghurt ultra-processed?Are baked beans ultra-processed?Is dark chocolate ultra-processed?Is plant-based meat ultra-processed?
