Collectively we’re becoming fussier eaters. Organic, free range, sustainable and locally sourced, are all descriptions we’re coming to expect from our food, and that's undoubtedly a good thing. Many of us are also keen to keep an eye on the nutritional content of our food, counting calories and regulating carbs, but there are a few skeletons in our food’s closets that go unmentioned.

Food Scores is a new iPhone and web app by the non-profit Environmental Working Group (EWG) that rates food based on its pesticides, antibiotics and processing. Food Scores’ database stores 80,000 products, all rated on a scale of one to ten and flagged for various concerns.

By scanning a product’s barcode using the app, users can reveal details about undisclosed ingredients and how far the product has come from its source, as well as the usual nutritional information.  The desktop app will even explain why Butylated Hydroxytoluene is a problematic ingredient in Corn Flakes, for example.

Over the last few years there’s been an ongoing effort to improve transparency in food production, but many of the incriminating details seem inaccessible to the general shopper. Perhaps providing such information will create a necessary awareness for both consumers and producers alike.