Receipts first. Calm always.

Updated September 25, 2026

What we scan

Food and drinks, supplements, baby food and baby products, pet food and pet products, personal care and household cleaning. We don’t score electronics.

Knowing the product

A barcode is looked up in the Open Food Facts family of databases and, for US branded foods, USDA FoodData Central. When a barcode isn’t known, a photo of the label is read on our server; the photo isn’t kept.

The four bars

Ingredients rates each ingredient and screens it against watchlists for endocrine disruptors, cosmetic and material hazards, and pet toxins. Label honesty checks printed claims: certifications against their registries, nutrient claims against FDA definitions, and marketing words with no legal meaning. Sourcing covers pesticide residue by crop (EWG’s 2026 guide, built on USDA Pesticide Data Program tests), heavy metals measured against FDA action levels, published lab tests for plastics and PFAS, and how and where it’s grown. Company record covers recalls, court cases and ownership. A bar with too little evidence says so and offers the step that fills it, such as a photo of the ingredient panel.

The overall score

Foods start from nutrition, processing and additives; non-food products start from a bounded assessment of the formula screened against our watchlists. What’s behind the label then moves the number: a misleading label up to −8, a high-residue crop −12 (−4 when organic), an open issue on this product −10. Deductions are capped at −25 so records can move a product a band but never outweigh what’s in it. Two findings cap the score at 40: an active recall of this exact product, and a published test over an FDA limit. Labor findings are shown at the bottom of the company record and never lower the score. Your household, diet, values and watch topics add flags; they never change it.

Where the evidence comes from

Recalls come from openFDA enforcement reports, matched to your barcode, and the Consumer Product Safety Commission. Court cases come from federal dockets on CourtListener, limited to cases against the company. Ownership comes from Wikidata and company filings. Web findings (lab tests, investigations, acquisitions) are kept only when the cited page supports them, and each one links to its source. A complaint is shown as an allegation; a dismissed or closed case is history.

Better picks

When something scans low, we look for up to three cleaner options the stores you choose carry, starting with the same brand’s organic version. Picks are scored the same way from their name and label, so the number is an estimate and marked that way.

Watching your shelf

Every product scanned on SYNC’D is re-checked for new recalls every day and for new court cases every week. New findings appear on your Home screen.

Limits

SYNC’D is information, not medical advice. Independent lab tests exist for relatively few products; for most, sourcing reflects the crop or category, and we say so. Recalls usually cover specific lots, so check the dates and codes on the notice. For allergies, read the package and follow your clinician’s advice.

Corrections

Email madison@syncdbymadison.com with the barcode, the finding and the source. We’ll check the evidence and update the record.