I'm a big fan of spreadsheets instead of db -- it has it's limitations of course, but works great for apps with a few thousand read-only records (items/products or even just text captions).
I built HasGluten [1, 2] with react + google spreadsheet, hosted on github for free, you get a cheap, scalable, geo-distributed software stack, with simple interfaces to maintain both code (GitHub Pages) and data (Google Sheets — also great for the non-tech).
You probably should try to do international free wiki-like open database of all foods with EAN codes. Maybe Fitbit and other vendors could chip in to provide food details.
I would love to scan all my food EAN codes and see in the computer what I have in my refrigator in calories, protein etc.
P.S. Google spreadsheet is not enough for database of all the world's food
In Brazil all food manufactures are required to put in the package whether the product contains gluten or not. Isn't that the case in the United States?
It is, but try to go to Safeway and buy a GF powerbar... :)
Jokes aside, we maintain the list mostly for ingredients. Many people, especially "novice", often ask the same questions -- or you may have doubts for strange/unfamiliar foods, for instance if you're traveling in a foreign country.
I built HasGluten [1, 2] with react + google spreadsheet, hosted on github for free, you get a cheap, scalable, geo-distributed software stack, with simple interfaces to maintain both code (GitHub Pages) and data (Google Sheets — also great for the non-tech).
[1] http://hasgluten.com
[2] https://github.com/hasgluten/hasgluten