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CodeCheck app for identifying products of concern

Exposing questionable products with the CodeCheck app

The CodeCheck App helps our society to buy healthy and sustainable products. Nowadays, this is no longer so easy due to aggressive and often only half-true advertising and the many technical terms for ingredients on the packaging. Today I'll show you exactly how to get the app and how to use it optimally so that you only consume safe products in future. I have also conducted an interview for you with Franziska Grammes, Communications Manager at Codecheck, which I will share with you in the course of the article. Let's go!

What are the benefits of the CodeCheck app?

You can check microplastics in cosmetics!

The app makes it easier for you to check the quality of ingredients in consumer goods over a long period of time. With the Codecheck app, consumers can use the barcode on the back of an item to check within seconds whether it is healthy and socially and environmentally friendly. This makes the purchase decision easier and means that we as buyers are not left in the dark for long. Because too many products today contain microplastics, Palm oil or added sugar and many other unhealthy or environmentally harmful additives. I personally think that CodeCheck can put massive pressure on companies with this app. Because the more people use this app, the more likely it is that responsible companies will be pressured to manufacture their products more conscientiously. We consumers have it in our own hands and can make a big difference!


Interview with Franziska Grammes from CodeCheck

As promised, here is my interview with Franziska Grammes from CodeCheck. A great team, with environmentally conscious employees, in my opinion! And now enjoy the interview:

Why was CodeCheck created?

Similar to you, our founder Roman Bleichenbacher also had the idea for CodeCheck during a vacation: when he was traveling in Cuba in 1998 and, unfamiliar with the local produce, bought a completely inedible mango, he asked himself for the first time what criteria we actually use to make our purchasing decisions. Back in Switzerland, he began to set up a database in which consumers could collect information about products themselves. In addition to the origin of the product, this also includes labels, the price and the exact ingredients. All this information is stored and summarized using the barcode number. The idea: once enough information has been gathered, people can make truly confident decisions. Decisions that are not only good for their health, but also for the planet.

What are the major dangers lurking in consumer goods? When is a product optimal and what aspects do you use to determine this?

An optimal product does not harm health or the environment. However, it is impossible to make absolute statements here, because what is potentially "harmful" and what is not is sometimes very different from person to person or cannot really be determined at this point in time. For example, one person may be allergic to certain fragrances, while another is not. Another wants to avoid palm oil from conventional cultivation, but makes exceptions for products with certified palm oil. Someone else wants to avoid microplastics, but someone else does not. The CodeCheck app can therefore be used to individually set which factors to focus on. CodeCheck itself is not an evaluating authority that makes statements. We simply provide people with the right information in a matter of seconds. To this end, we work with Greenpeace, WWF and BUND, among others. Ultimately, however, it is the user who makes the decision.

What are CodeCheck's goals for the next few years? What is being worked on?

Now that CodeCheck is only available in German-speaking countries, it is to be made accessible to an international audience. The next big step is therefore the launch in the USA this fall. We are also working on a "carbon footprint function" that will make it possible to identify which products are CO2-intensive and which are not.

Why should the consumer use CodeCheck?

CodeCheck should be used by anyone who wants to know more about the products they use every day.

What is the easiest way for consumers to use CodeCheck?

It really is child's play. Simply download the free app for iOS or Android, pick up a (packaged) food or cosmetic product and scan the barcode. Within seconds, you can find out whether there is palm oil in the pizza or microplastics in the shower gel, for example - and much more: in total, we evaluate more than 6,000 different ingredients. We also display a nutritional traffic light for foods.

What does CodeCheck want future consumption to look like?

People are increasingly concerned with the products they consume. Through their purchasing decisions, they are sending very clear signals to manufacturers, who must respond to them. In future, it will therefore become much more transparent where products come from, under what conditions they were produced and what exactly they contain. (see also Zero Waste Lifestyle)

Thank you very much for the pleasant interview!

Get the CodeCheck app here

You can download the CodeCheck app for avoiding ingredients in consumer products that are harmful to health or the environment from either the Google Playstore (Android smartphones) or the Apple AppStore (iOS smartphones).

You can download the CodeCheck app here in the AppStore
Click here to download directly from the Google PlayStore

Download and installation are self-explanatory, as with all other apps.

Optimal use of the CodeCheck app when shopping

To be honest, I have rarely used an app that is so easy to use. Above all, it takes just a few seconds to get the result you want. No long waiting time and the result is clearly displayed on your cell phone. It's that simple:

  1. Switch on the app and scan the barcode of the item
  2. The evaluation circle shows you the assessment of the product in different colors: red = very questionable because carcinogenic, harmful to the environment, etc.; green = harmless ingredients

That's it already. However, the app is basically a large product database where you can also search specifically for individual brands or manufacturers without scanning the barcode. You are provided with lots of special information for each item. If an item is very questionable, the app even recommends a suitable alternative product based on the data you searched for.

The CodeCheck app makes the world a little better

I am glad that Roman Bleichenbacher was traveling in Cuba and thus got the impetus to develop the app. Because the CodeCheck app makes the plastic free lifestyle and environmentally friendly everyday life in general like no other app. Easy to use and effective in solving problems. The CodeCheck app shows you immediately whether an item is healthy, socially and environmentally friendly. This changes consumption in the long term, forcing companies to adapt their products accordingly due to the change in demand.

With this in mind, stay clean,

Living plastic-free - Less plastic waste in the environment

PS.: You are welcome to read the article Microplastics in cosmetics if you are not yet 100% convinced of the necessity of this app. 🙂

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* Links with asterisks are so-called Affiliate linksIf you click on it and buy something, you automatically and actively support my work with CareElite.de, as I receive a small share of the proceeds - and of course nothing changes in the product price. Many thanks for your support and best regards, Christoph!

Christoph Schulz

Christoph Schulz

I'm Christoph, an environmental scientist and author - and here at CareElite I'm campaigning against plastic waste in the environment, climate change and all the other major environmental problems of our time. Together with other environmentally conscious bloggers, I want to give you tips & tricks for a naturally healthy, sustainable life as well as your personal development.

4 thoughts on “Mit der CodeCheck App bedenkliche Produkte entlarven”

  1. You provide here very helpful tricks that help me and I'm sure many others to ease their conscience by a plastic-poorer and more ecological way of life! Thanks for that you have helped me a lot. 🙂

    1. Hi Maximilian! Thanks for your feedback, that's really nice to hear 🙂 .
      Keep up the good work and best regards,
      Christoph

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