We're always making improvements to FoodChecker so it's as easy and helpful for you as possible.
Get live feedback and real time results
Next time you do a menu or vending assessment*, you'll see the classification of every food and drink instantly and get immediate feedback for a healthier result.
PLUS, see the percentage of GREEN, AMBER and RED items update on screen in real time.
2x faster recipe input
It’s now faster and easier to enter recipes* because you don’t need to enter the quantities for most ingredients. Learn more.
* Please note, these updates to not apply to long day care assessments.
Western Australian schools can now search for GREEN, AMBER, RED products
Search the database to find over 10,000 branded products classified GREEN, AMBER, RED according to the Department of Health Western Australia WA School Food and Drink Criteria.
Want to find healthier foods and drinks for your WA school? Find them on FoodChecker!
Find ingredients faster!
Next time you add a recipe, type the ingredient keywords and the most common ingredients will appear at the top.
And if you can't find what you're looking for, simply scan the list of A-Z results below it.
New URL, and changes to the way you sign
FoodChecker has a new home!
Foodchecker.au is the place to find out if your foods and drinks meet government guidelines for long day care, school canteens, retail food outlets, catering and vending machines.
The new URL will be in place from Monday 19 June 2023. If your web browser or password manager normally prefills your username and password, this won’t happen the first time you visit foodchecker.au, and you will need to enter your details manually.
Can't remember your password? Click here for help to sign in to foodchecker.au.
Assess foods and drinks supplied in South Australian schools
Now you can assess the food and drinks supplied in SA school canteens according to the nutrition-related standard of the Department for Education Right Bite Food and Drinks Standards for South Australian schools.
You can use FoodChecker to assess your current menu and recipes, and plan new ones.
You can also search the database to find over 10,000 branded products already classified GREEN, AMBER, RED 1 or RED 2 according to Right Bite Food and Drinks Standards for South Australian schools.
For more information visit www.education.sa.gov.au/rightbite.
FoodChecker has a new look! Learn more about what has changed below:
Updated brand
FoodChecker has been updated with a fresh new look, and a new logo!
New look ‘My assessments’ screen
The My assessments screen has a colourful new layout, with the key information about each assessment at your fingertips.
New PDF reports for Victorian assessments
If you do assessments for Victorian organisations you will notice the PDF report templates look different. The new, streamlined reports contain the same valuable information, including a summary of your results and tailored recommendations for healthier changes.
Faster and easier assessments coming soon!
2023 is a big year for FoodChecker with more updates planned to make FoodChecker even faster and easier to use!
Find out if your health services meets the Healthy choices: policy directive for Victorian public health services.
We've added a new assessment option for Victorian public hospitals and health services to assess the foods and drinks they supply to staff and visitors, via:
Next time you click 'Start new assessment', select 'Health services' and follow the prompts for the Policy Directive option.
NOTE: The Policy Directive does not apply to inpatient and residential aged-care meals, private hospitals and health services, or food and drinks brought from home for personal consumption.
Learn more about the Policy Directive http://heas.health.vic.gov.au/healthy-choices-policy-directive-victorian-public-health-services
Choose which criteria to use
Previously, the type of organisation you were assessing would determine which criteria was used. For example, if you were assessing a long day care service, it would be assessed against the Victorian Menu planning guidelines from long day care. If you were assessing a hospital, it would be assessed against the Victorian Healthy Choices guidelines.
Now, all FoodChecker users can choose which criteria they want to use any time a new assessment is started.
Link assessments for onsite retail outlets in your organisation.
If you’re assessing a retail food outlet that is located within another organisation, such as a university or hospital, you can link that outlet’s assessment to the ‘premises’ organisation.
Next time you start an assessment for a retail food outlet, you will be asked if the outlet is located in a hospital or health service, sport and recreation centre, university or TAFE or a school. If yes, you can enter the name of that organisation.
Assess foods and drinks supplied in Queensland hospitals and health services
Now you can assess the food and drinks supplied in retail outlet menus and vending machines in Queensland hospitals and health services according to the A Better Choice – Healthy Food and Drink Supply Strategy for Queensland Health Facilities (A Better Choice) and Health Service Directive.
You can assess retail outlet menus and vending machines, as well as individual recipes and products.
You can also search the database to find over 10,000 branded products already classified GREEN, AMBER or RED according to A Better Choice.
For more information about the A Better Choice criteria, visit https://www.health.qld.gov.au/public-health/topics/healthy-lifestyles/workplaces/choice.
We have updated some product assessment criteria, to align with changes made to the Healthy choices: food and drink classification guide (Victoria). Some of these criteria have been applied for Victorian schools assessments as well.
The criteria for the following categories have been updated:
And we’ve added the following categories for:
Previous menu and vending machine assessments that meet the Healthy Choices guidelines or schools canteen policy are still valid for 12 months from the date of assessment. As a general rule, we recommend that you do a new assessment every 6-12 months to ensure your food and drink classifications are based on the most up to date product information and classification criteria.
You can find the updated Healthy choices: food and drink classification guide and a guide to what’s changed here.
In May 2020, extra criteria were added to the the Menu planning guidelines for long day care to provide clear advice on using the following ingredients on long day care menus:
The updated Menu planning guidelines for long day care were published in May 2020, and came into effect on FoodChecker in August.
Learn about what these updates to FoodChecker mean for you here.
We've upgraded the food and drink product database
In fact, we’ve completely transformed the way we source information about products, and automated our system of classifying them according to the Victorian school canteens policy and Healthy Choices guidelines!
Over the next few months you’ll have access to 1000s more food and drinks products classified GREEN, AMBER or RED, with updates occurring throughout the year!
We've updated some product classification criteria.
The criteria to classify the following product categories has been updated:
Read about the updated criteria for the Victorian schools policy here and the Healthy Choices guidelines here.
We've added new product categories
Now you can classify the following pre-made, packaged products as GREEN, AMBER or RED according to the Victorian schools and Healthy Choices guidelines:
Now you can assess vending machines!
Now you can use FoodChecker to find out if the foods and drinks in your vending machine meet the Victorian Government’s Healthy Choices guidelines.
Just enter every drink, snack, and meal in your machine to find out the overall percentage of GREEN, AMBER or RED items, and get tailored recommendations for healthier changes.
(Not available for long day care or school assessments)
You can now assess kombucha and fermented soft drinks.
Just look for the new option under the 'Drinks' category. (Note: does not apply to long day care menu assessments).
We've redesigned the My Assessments screen.
It's now easier to find what you're looking for. Sign in now to take a look.
Now you can:
It's now easier to tell which products came from the main database, and which ones you assessed yourself.
The products you assessed yourself will now always appear differently in the product search results, and in assessment reports (on screen and PDF).
You can now use FoodChecker to assess the foods and drinks provided in Victorian schools according to the Healthy Canteen Kit - School Canteens and Other School Food Services Policy.
You can assess your entire canteen menu, or classify individual products and recipes as Everyday, Select Carefully, Occasionally, or confectionery and high sugar content soft drinks.
You can search the title of recipe in the 'Common recipes' section using partial keywords.
For example, you can type “cass” to find all recipes with "casserole" in the title.
FoodChecker is launched!