A 2-year-old and a 10-year-old shouldn't get the same score.

Melu is the first food scanner that rates grocery products based on your child's age. Scan any barcode. See what's really inside — and whether it's safe for their stage.

Scan your first product Learn more
Red 40 detected
No artificial dyes
87
Annie's Cheddar Bunnies
Good Choice
No artificial colors or dyes detected
Low sugar — 4g is only 16% of your 3-year-old's daily limit
Contains 180mg sodium — 18% of daily limit for age 3
AI Insight
A solid everyday snack for your toddler. Sodium is a bit elevated for this age but within safe range for occasional...
100% Independent
Age-specific scoring
Science-backed methodology
The difference age makes

Same product. Different ages.
Different scores.

Other food scanners give everyone the same number. Melu adjusts for your child's age — because a toddler's body handles sugar, sodium, and additives very differently than a grade-schooler's.

Age 2
38
Honey Nut Cheerios
Use Caution
12g sugar = 80% of a 2-year-old's daily limit in one serving
Contains honey — not safe under 1, borderline for age 2
270mg sodium = 34% of daily limit for this age
Age 8
76
Honey Nut Cheerios
Good Choice
12g sugar = 48% of daily limit — reasonable for this age
Whole grain oats as first ingredient
270mg sodium = 23% of daily limit — moderate
How it works

Three seconds. That's all it takes.

No sign-up required. Open the app, point your camera, and know exactly what you're putting in the cart.

1
Scan any barcode
Point your camera at any grocery product. Works with 2 million+ US products.
2
Get an age-specific score
See a 0-100 safety score calibrated to your child's developmental stage. Not a generic number.
3
Understand why
AI-powered explanations tell you exactly which ingredients matter and what they mean for your child.
The gap no one's filling

The FDA evaluates food safety for adults.
Not for your child.

Children's bodies absorb and process food differently. But the US food safety system wasn't designed with them in mind.

12
common food additives in US grocery products are banned in the European Union
1969
was the last time the FDA reviewed the safety of Yellow No. 5 — still in thousands of kids' foods today
0
other food scanning apps adjust their scores based on your child's age or developmental stage
Every parent deserves to know what's in their child's food. Melu doesn't just flag bad ingredients — it tells you why they matter for your child's age, and what safe looks like.
Built for parents

Everything you need. Nothing you don't.

No clutter, no ads, no brand partnerships. Just clear answers about what's in the cart.

Age-adjusted scoring
Enter your child's age — from newborn to 12 — and get a score calibrated to their stage. Sugar, sodium, and additive thresholds all shift to match pediatric guidelines.
AI-powered explanations
Not just "too much sugar." Melu tells you exactly how much of your 2-year-old's daily limit is in one serving — and what a safe portion looks like.
Dye and additive detection
Instantly flags Red 40, Yellow 5, BHA, TBHQ, and dozens of other additives the FDA is phasing out or that are already banned in Europe.
Help us grow the database
Product not found? Snap a photo of the nutrition label. Our AI reads it, scores it, and saves it — so the next parent gets an instant result.
Questions

Frequently asked

Every product starts at 100 and loses points based on what's inside — artificial dyes, preservatives, ultra-processed ingredients, excess sugar for their age, sodium levels, and more. The score adjusts based on your child's specific age because a toddler's daily sugar limit is 15g while a 10-year-old's is 25g. Same product, very different safety profile.
Yes. The core scanning and scoring experience is completely free. We'll eventually offer a premium tier with features like multiple child profiles and weekly nutrition reports — but the ability to scan any product and get an age-specific safety score will always be free.
No — and they never will. Melu has zero brand partnerships and no advertising. Every score is calculated using the same peer-reviewed methodology, regardless of the manufacturer.
Take a photo of the nutrition label. Our AI reads it, extracts the ingredients and nutrition facts, scores the product, and saves it to our database — so the next parent who scans that barcode gets an instant result. Every scan makes Melu better for everyone.

Your pediatrician can't go
grocery shopping with you.

Melu can. Scan your first product — it takes three seconds.

Scan your first product free