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Troubleshooting

Nutrition & Food Search

Nutrition & Food Search

PT Tracker searches across a large database of branded, restaurant, and community-submitted foods. If you’re having trouble finding what you need, here’s how to fix it.

Food search not finding results

  • Check your spelling — The search is forgiving with typos, but very unusual spellings may not match. Try shorter terms (e.g. “chicken breast” instead of “Tesco finest chicken breast fillets”).
  • Use generic terms — If a branded product isn’t listed, search for the generic version (e.g. “semi-skimmed milk” rather than the specific brand).
  • Check your connection — Food search queries the cloud database. If you’re offline, only previously cached foods and your custom entries will appear.
  • Search by brand — Try the brand name on its own (e.g. “Greggs” or “Costa”) to browse all items from that brand.

Barcode scanner not working

  1. Grant camera permission — The scanner needs access to your camera.
    • iOS: Go to Settings > PT Tracker > Camera and toggle it on.
    • Android: Go to Settings > Apps > PT Tracker > Permissions > Camera and select Allow.
  2. Clean your camera lens — A smudged lens can prevent the barcode from being read.
  3. Improve lighting — Hold the barcode in good light and keep your hand steady. Avoid glare from overhead lights.
  4. Try manual entry — If the barcode still won’t scan, type the number printed below the barcode into the search bar.

Barcode scans but food not found

Not every product is in the database. When this happens:

  1. Tap Add Custom Food.
  2. Enter the food name and macros from the packaging (calories, protein, carbs, fat).
  3. Set a serving size.
  4. Save — the food is added to your personal library and available for future use.

Adding custom foods

You can create custom foods at any time from Nutrition > Search > Add Custom Food. This is useful for home-cooked meals, local foods, or items not yet in the database. Custom foods are synced to your account and available on all your devices.

If you think a food should be in the main database and isn’t, let us know via the contact page and we’ll look into adding it.