People who want to contribute to the Open Food Facts database can do so in many ways:
- Using the mobile apps (Android, iPhone/iPad) to take pictures and enter basic information of products
- Using the openfoodfacts.org website in cases such as:
- Adding additional information that can’t be added using the mobile apps
- adding a product that doesn’t have a bar code
- adding a product by uploading pictures, including the picture of the barcode.
- using the mass upload tool to upload several products in one go.
All information in the Open Food Facts database must come from the packaging— for data coming from the product, like Labels, Best Before Date, Ingredients — or from real life experience —for data such as where it was bought and in which store.
Once a contributor has used the mobile application, the web site, or the mass upload tool, to enter the basic data, they may go to openfoodfacts.org to edit the product(s) they added and complete all fields.
Basic rules:
- Only the data available on the package should be added.
- 3 pictures are key: front, nutrition facts, ingredients. However other pictures which display information such as labels (Organic, Free Range, vegetarian…), EMB/packaging code, manufacturing location, etc. would be useful for tracking purposes. More pictures the better, don’t be shy adding pictures.
Once pictures are added it is great to go to the openfoodfacts.org website to type the information, however it is not mandatory, any information is good information. If you do not have time to type the information you shouldn’t feel guilty, the pictures are already of great help.