Data Sources

Our product database is built from multiple sources, cross-referenced and verified to maintain accuracy:

• Open Food Facts — an international, open-source database of food products maintained by volunteers and organisations worldwide. We use it as a baseline for barcode lookups and nutritional information.
• Australian retailer product catalogues - publicly available product listings from major Australian supermarkets and pharmacies. These provide current pricing, availability, and product images for the local market.
• User-submitted scans — when a user scans a product not in our database, it enters a review pipeline where we verify the barcode, ingredient list, and nutritional panel before scoring.
• Direct manufacturer data — in some cases, manufacturers provide ingredient and nutritional information directly via their websites or upon request.

Our scoring model draws on authoritative scientific and regulatory references:

• FSANZ — Food Standards Australia New Zealand. The primary regulatory body for food safety and labelling in Australia. We use FSANZ guidelines for additive safety, permitted ingredient lists, and nutrition labelling standards.
• EFSA — European Food Safety Authority. Where FSANZ lacks specific guidance on particular ingredients or additives, we reference EFSA safety opinions.
• TGA — Therapeutic Goods Administration. For supplements and therapeutic products, TGA regulations and guidelines inform our scoring criteria.
• WHO — World Health Organisation nutritional guidelines, particularly for sugar, sodium, and fat intake recommendations.
• Peer-reviewed research — published meta-analyses, systematic reviews, and landmark studies from journals including The BMJ, The Lancet, JAMA, and the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.

Product formulations change. Brands reformulate, swap ingredients, and adjust nutritional profiles. We update scores as new data becomes available, but there can be a lag between a reformulation and our database reflecting it.

If you notice a discrepancy — a score that doesn't match the current product label — please flag it in the app or email team@trulu.app. We prioritise accuracy above everything else.

Data from Open Food Facts is used under the Open Database License (ODbL). Retailer product information is sourced from publicly available listings. All scoring and analysis is original work by the Trulu team.

If you wish to cite Trulu's data or analysis in research or media, you're welcome to do so with attribution to Trulu (trulu.app). For bulk data access or research partnerships, contact team@trulu.app.