Question:

Yes, that is possible! In our latest Android, iPhone, and iPads apps, if you scan a barcode that is unknown, you will be given the option to create a public entry in our database for the missing food item. After entering all of the nutrition data, that public entry will be linked to the barcode you scanned.

If you are scanning a barcode with older versions of our software that do not offer the option to create a public food immediately after scanning, then the first step is to add the food item in question, to the main database first, and to make the food item available to all users. This can only be done on our website at http://www.myfitnesspal.com. If you have created a food item in the app, separate from the process of scanning the barcode and being asked to create a public food to link with it, you have only added the item to your personal database, not the main database. You will need to go online and enter the item in again and then elect to share it with the main database.

To do this, log into the "member's log in" area online at http://www.myfitnesspal.com (use the same username and password as you do with the app) and click the "Food" tab, then click "My Foods" in the sub-tabs.

Click "Create New Foods" and fill in the data on the next two screens. If a user has already entered the food you're creating, you may be prompted to confirm an existing food item to avoid creating duplicates.

If you do create a new food, be sure to check the box at the bottom of the second screen, next to Yes, let other MyFitnessPal members use this food. This will make the food item "public" and allow all users to find it when searching our database.

Once the food item is in our database and set to "public," you may scan the UPC symbol for that food using your mobile device. The app may find that the UPC symbol is already connected to a food item. If this is the wrong food item, scroll down and tap the "Find a Better Match" button. Then you may type the name of the food item to perform a search of our database, and link the UPC code to that item. If the UPC code is not already connected to a food item, you should be taken directly to a search area where you may search for the food that belongs to the UPC code.