Zebugs

The Zebugs mascot: a man eating insects
INGREDIENTS

Skimmed yoghurt, strawberries 8%, sugar, starch, colour: carmine (E120), thickener: locust bean gum (E410).

that is ground-up scale insect

And that is the easy one. Carmine is in sweets, yoghurt and soft drinks worldwide, and on a label it also reads cochineal, E120 or natural red 4. Zebugs reads the ingredient list in sixteen languages, wherever you scan, so you do not have to.

The app is not out yet

Zebugs is being built and is not in the Google Play Store yet. This page is here already so that who stands behind it, and what the app does with your data, can be checked.

Scan the barcode
Insects found, and which
Nothing found

What Zebugs looks for

Four insect species now farmed for food, and two agents of animal origin that have been in it for far longer. All six turn up on labels anywhere in the world.

  • House cricketAcheta domesticus
  • Yellow mealwormTenebrio molitor
  • Lesser mealwormAlphitobius diaperinus
  • Migratory locustLocusta migratoria
  • Carmine (E120)Cochineal (Dactylopius coccus)
  • Shellac (E904)Lac insect (Kerria lacca)

What Zebugs does

Zebugs scans the barcode or reads the ingredient list, and tells you whether there are insects in it. This is what we check.

What we check for

Four well-known insect species farmed for food: yellow mealworm, lesser mealworm, house cricket and migratory locust. Plus two agents made from insects: carmine (E120) and shellac (E904). We recognise them in sixteen languages, under their Latin names and under names like cochineal, natural red 4 and confectioner’s glaze.

Where the answer comes from

First our own list of manually checked products, then Open Food Facts, and finally what users have sent in. Every time, we read the ingredient list again. That is how the recognition keeps getting better, and the answer with it.

If we do not know the product

If we are not sure, we say so. Scan the ingredient list yourself, that happens on your phone. Or send in photos, and we add the product for everyone after you.

Where Zebugs works

Everywhere. Carmine and shellac are in sweets, soft drinks, yoghurt and the shine on fruit, on every continent. And a barcode is simply a barcode anywhere.

What we do not check

Recipes change, sometimes without the packaging changing with them. We only say something about insects, not about gelatine, alcohol or allergens. If you have an allergy or a strict diet, the label is the source, we are the tool. Always check the label yourself to be sure.

What stays on your phone

Your scan history is on your phone; only your own backup at Google or Apple takes it along. We keep no camera images, apart from the photos you send in yourself. The details are in the privacy policy.


  • 58products somebody has checked by hand
  • 16languages the app can read on a label
  • 6species and colourings it watches for

Privacy policy, terms and business details

© 2026 Zebugs. All rights reserved. Unauthorised use of the name, the concept or the branding will be pursued legally.