Standards

Data Standards & Sources

Updated May 1, 2026

NutriScan grounds its guidance in label data first, then interprets that data against public nutrition references and the user’s saved profile.

Product databases

Product lookup and nutrition enrichment use public food databases when available, especially for packaged foods and canonical nutrient reference values.

USDA FoodData Central

https://fdc.nal.usda.gov/

Open Food Facts

https://support.openfoodfacts.org/help/en-gb/9-open-food-facts

Nutrition-label interpretation baseline

For packaged-food interpretation, the app uses Health Canada guidance around Nutrition Facts tables, serving size, and percent Daily Value (%DV).

Health Canada: Nutrition facts table

https://www.canada.ca/en/health-canada/services/food-nutrition/nutrition-labelling/nutrition-facts-tables.html

Health Canada: Table of Daily Values

https://www.canada.ca/en/health-canada/services/technical-documents-labelling-requirements/table-daily-values/nutrition-labelling.html

Population-level nutrition guardrails

General sodium, free-sugar, saturated-fat, and trans-fat interpretation is informed by WHO healthy-diet guidance for chronic-disease prevention.

WHO healthy diet guidance

https://www.who.int/en/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/healthy-diet

Condition-specific references

Diabetes support emphasizes carbohydrate load and glycemic-index context using Diabetes Canada educational guidance.
Kidney support treats sodium and potassium as high-value signals when present on the label, and keeps phosphorus on the clinical roadmap because it is important for chronic kidney disease but often missing from retail label schemas.
Pregnancy support keeps folic acid/folate and iron as reference nutrients when label data exposes them or the product type warrants closer review.

Diabetes Canada: Glycemic Index

https://guidelines.diabetes.ca/health-care-provider-tools/glycemic-index

Diabetes Canada: Carb counting

https://www.diabetes.ca/nutrition-fitness/healthy-eating/carb-counting

Kidney Foundation of Canada: Nutrition

https://kidney.ca/en/kidney-health/living-with-kidney-disease/nutrition

Kidney Foundation of Canada: Phosphorus labelling

https://kidney.ca/Get-Involved/Advocacy/Call-for-Phosphorus-Labelling

Canada: Folic acid and pregnancy

https://www.canada.ca/en/public-health/services/pregnancy/folic-acid-iron-pregnancy.html

Canada: Healthy pregnancy guide

https://www.canada.ca/en/public-health/services/pregnancy/guide-healthy-pregnancy.html

Health Canada: Iron

https://www.canada.ca/en/health-canada/services/nutrients/iron.html

Current limitations

Retail labels do not always expose every nutrient needed for disease-specific precision.
OCR confidence can vary, so the app prompts for review when label extraction is weak.
The mobile client currently handles potassium and iron when labels provide them, while phosphorus and folate remain roadmap nutrients for deeper condition support.

All condition-specific guidance should still be confirmed with a qualified clinician or registered dietitian, especially for kidney disease, pregnancy, diabetes, or severe allergies. Review the Privacy Policy and Terms of Use alongside these sources.