How to submit a new food to Easy Diet Diary

What happens when you submit a food?

When you scan a barcode that isn't in our database, you can create the food yourself and submit it to Xyris, the creators of Easy Diet Diary, for review. Once we receive your submission, our team reviews and verifies the information before adding it to the Easy Diet Diary food database, so your submission helps every user who searches for that product in the future.

The more complete your submission, the faster we can verify it and the more accurately it will appear in the database.

Photos make a big difference. Submissions that include a photo of the nutrition information panel and the front of pack are verified significantly faster and more accurately than submissions without photos. If you can take two photos, your food will almost always be added correctly and quickly.

Before you start

You'll need the product in front of you. Ideally, have it on a flat, well-lit surface before you begin.

The only fields that are required to submit a food are:

• Barcode (GTIN) — scanned automatically
• Product name
• Serving size
• Energy per serve

Every other field is optional, but the more you fill in — especially the photos — the better the result.

Step 1: Scan the barcode

Open Easy Diet Diary and search for the food. When it doesn't appear in the results, you'll see an option to add it yourself. Tap this and scan the barcode on the product packaging.

If the barcode doesn't scan cleanly, make sure the barcode is lying flat and try again in better light.

Step 2: Take a photo of the front of pack

You'll be prompted to take or upload a photo of the front of the product packaging.

What to do:

• Lay the product flat on a table or hold it steady against a neutral background
• Make sure the product name and brand are clearly visible
• Use natural light or a well-lit room — avoid direct flash
• Hold the camera parallel to the packaging, not at an angle
• Tap to focus before taking the shot

What to avoid:

• Blurry or out-of-focus images
• Strong glare or flash reflections on shiny packaging
• Fingers, hands, or other objects covering the label
• Extreme angles where text appears distorted
• Dark or shadowy images where the brand or name is hard to read

Good example: A crisp, flat photo of the front of a cereal box taken on a kitchen bench in daylight, with the brand name and product name clearly readable.

Not ideal: A photo taken at a steep angle with a flash reflection obscuring the product name, or a blurry shot taken one-handed.

Step 3:

 Take a photo of the nutrition information panel

This is the most important photo for data accuracy. The nutrition information panel (NIP) is the table on the back or side of the packaging that lists energy, protein, fat, carbohydrates, sodium, and other nutrients.

What to do:

• Lay the product flat so the NIP panel faces up or position it against a flat surface
• Make sure the entire table is in frame — from the heading down to the last row
• Get close enough that the text is readable, but not so close that the edges are cut off
• Use natural light or a bright room
• Tap to focus on the text before taking the shot
• Keep the camera parallel to the panel — not tilted

What to avoid:

• Cutting off the top or bottom of the table
• Glare from overhead lighting or flash — this is the most common problem with NIP photos
• Curved packaging where the panel is hard to photograph flat (try pressing it gently against a flat surface)
• Shadows falling across any part of the table
• Out-of-focus text — the individual numbers and units need to be readable

Good example: A close, clear photo of the NIP on the back of a yoghurt tub, taken flat on a bench with a window nearby for light. All rows are visible and the text is sharp.

Not ideal: A photo where the flash has created a white glare across the middle of the table, making several rows unreadable. Or a photo taken from too far away where the numbers are too small to make out.

Step 4: Enter the nutrition information

You'll be asked to enter the nutritional values from the NIP. All values should be entered per serve — use the "Quantity per serving" column on the NIP, not the "per 100g" column.

Enter as many fields as you can. The required fields are:

• Serving size (in grams or millilitres)
• Energy (in kilojoules or calories)

Optional but helpful:

• Protein
• Total fat
• Saturated fat
• Carbohydrates
• Sugars
• Dietary fibre
• Sodium
• Calcium
• Potassium

A note on "less than" values: Some products — particularly sauces, condiments, and supplements with very small serving sizes — use "less than" notation on their NIP (for example, "less than 1g" or "<0.5g"). If you see this, enter 0 for that nutrient. Don't enter the threshold number.

Step 5 — Enter the product name

Enter the name as it appears on the packaging. Include the brand name and any variant or flavour information that helps identify the specific product.

Good examples:

• Nescafe 98% Sugar Free Mocha Sachet
• Arnott's Tim Tam Double Coat
• Chobani Greek Yoghurt Strawberry

Less helpful:

• Mocha sachet
• Tim Tam
• Yoghurt strawberry

The name should be specific enough that someone who didn't have the product in front of them could identify it with confidence.

Step 6 — Submit

Review your submission and tap Submit. Your food will be saved immediately to your personal diary so you can log it straight away. Our team will then review your submission in the background and, once verified, it will be added to the shared Easy Diet Diary database for everyone to use.

Frequently asked questions

Do I have to take photos? Photos are optional, but they make a significant difference to how quickly and accurately your food gets added to the database. If you're able to take two photos: 1. front of pack and 2. the nutrition panel, that's the most helpful thing you can do.

What if my photo comes out blurry or the lighting is bad? Try again. A clear photo is worth the extra few seconds. If the packaging is very shiny, try turning off your flash and using natural light instead.

I entered a value but I'm not sure it's right; what should I do? Submit what you have. Our team reviews every submission before it goes into the database, so if something looks off we'll catch it. A photo of the NIP helps us verify your values independently.

Why does my food show up in my diary straight away but not in the search results? Your submitted food is saved to your personal food list immediately so you can use it right away. It only appears in the shared search results after our team has reviewed and verified it.

Can I submit a correction for a food that's already in the database? Yes — if you notice a food in Easy Diet Diary has incorrect information, you can flag it for correction. The easiest way to help us fix it is to submit a photo of the front of pack and the nutrition information panel. That gives our team everything they need to update the entry.

What happens to my submission if I don't include photos? We'll still receive your submission and our team will review the values you entered. Without a photo, we may not be able to independently verify the data, which can slow down the review process. In some cases we may wait until a photo submission comes in before adding the food to the shared database.

How long does it take for my food to appear in the database? This varies depending on how complete your submission is. Submissions with clear photos of both the front of pack and the nutrition panel are typically verified much faster. We don't have a guaranteed timeframe, but complete submissions are always prioritised.

Tips for getting the best results

• Do it at the supermarket or at home with the product nearby — trying to submit from memory rarely works well
• Lay packaging flat — tins, bottles, and pouches can be tricky; resting them on their side on a flat surface usually helps
• Natural light is your best friend — a window nearby is better than overhead fluorescent lighting for avoiding glare
• Take the NIP photo last — it's the most important one and worth a moment of care to get right
• If it takes two attempts to get a clear photo, that's fine — a blurry photo is less useful than no photo at all

Last updated: July 2026 Article: Submitting food data — Easy Diet Diary