Last updated: August 31, 2026
Prova is a food product scanner. You point your phone's camera at the barcode on a packaged food product, and Prova shows you what is in it — so you can decide whether you want to eat it.
You do not need an account and you never have to give us your name or email address to use the app. Your scan history and dietary profile are stored on your device, not on our servers. Full detail is in the Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.
Prova does not assign grades arbitrarily and does not accept payment from brands to change them. Every score you see is derived from the product data available at lookup time, using published methods and our own algorithms. Grades are informational estimates — not medical advice, not official safety certifications, and not purchasing recommendations.
When the source database includes it, Prova shows the Nutri-Score ↗ letter grade. Nutri-Score is a front-of-pack nutrition label scheme developed by public-health researchers in France. It ranks products on a scale from A (more favourable nutrient profile) to E (less favourable) based on per-100g values for energy, sugar, saturated fat, salt, fibre, protein, and fruit/vegetable/nut content. Prova displays the grade from the database; we do not recalculate it unless the underlying nutrient fields change.
When available, Prova shows the NOVA ↗ group, which classifies foods by degree of processing (1 = unprocessed, 4 = ultra-processed). This comes from the same open databases and may be missing for many products.
Where an ingredient list exists, Prova flags additives and substances against a watchlist built from published regulatory positions and major scientific reviews (for example EFSA, IARC, and national food-agency guidance). Each flag links to the source reference where possible. These summaries explain published positions in plain language — they are not medical diagnoses.
When enough data is present, Prova may generate a short plain-English summary from the Nutri-Score, NOVA group, nutrient values, and flagged substances. This text is produced by an automated language model, is capped at a few sentences, and is written to be calm and factual — not alarmist marketing copy. It can be wrong or incomplete when source data is wrong or incomplete. Treat it as a readable digest of the numbers, not a definitive judgment about a brand or product.
When a product scores poorly, Prova may suggest other products in the same category with better Nutri-Score grades from the same databases. Alternatives are algorithmic matches on category and grade — not endorsements, and brands cannot pay to appear or disappear from this list.
Independence. No ads. No paid placement. Manufacturers cannot pay to improve a grade or appear among alternatives. If Prova earns revenue, it comes only from optional Prova Premium subscriptions — never from food brands. See our Terms of Use for the full disclaimer.
Prova does not maintain its own catalogue of products. It looks each barcode up in public and third-party food databases, starting with Open Food Facts ↗. That means coverage varies by country and brand, and the details shown come from whichever source held the record.
When a barcode returns nothing, Prova shows a "Product not in database" screen with an Identify with photos button. Tap it and photograph the packaging — the front of the pack and the ingredients panel — and Prova will read the label directly to produce a result for you.
Prova cannot guarantee that every record is accurate. Database entries are contributed by volunteers, manufacturers, and automated imports — errors happen. You have two ways to help fix a record:
Most Prova lookups come from Open Food Facts ↗, which anyone can edit. Correcting the product there fixes it for every app that uses the database, including Prova.
world.openfoodfacts.org/product/barcode.
Email info@provascan.com and we will investigate. There is no in-app report button yet. So that we can trace the record, please include:
What we can and cannot do. We do not maintain our own product catalogue. We can flag bad records to database moderators, purge stale cached copies on our side, and re-process label photos you submitted. We cannot override Open Food Facts data directly, guarantee a correction timeline, or accept liability for errors in third-party records. Always verify critical details (especially allergens) on the physical packaging.
Prova needs camera permission to read barcodes. If you declined it the first time, grant it in your device settings under the Prova entry, then reopen the app. Barcodes also scan more reliably in good light, with the whole barcode inside the frame and the packaging flattened out.
Your scan history and dietary profile live on your device. You can clear your history and reset your profile from within the app, and uninstalling Prova removes everything stored locally.
No. Prova is an information tool that reports and explains what food databases and product labels say. It is not medical, dietary, or nutritional advice. Grades and AI summaries are algorithmic estimates, not purchasing recommendations. If you have an allergy or a medical condition, always check the physical packaging and speak to a qualified professional — never rely on the app alone. See our Terms of Use for full detail.
No. Product and brand names appear only to identify the item you scanned. Prova is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by any food manufacturer or retailer.
Email is the best way to reach us. We aim to reply within a few working days.