verella

What Verella checks for acid reflux and GERD

Turn on acid reflux in your profile and three extra rules run on every label. Reflux triggers are more individual than almost anything else Verella handles, so these notes are worded softly and carry small weight on purpose.

The 3 rules

  • Fat is 17.5 g or more per 100 g, or saturated fat is 5 g or more

    High in fat. High-fat foods may worsen reflux for some people. Consider your own triggers and your care team's advice.

    Source: Katz et al., ACG Clinical Guideline on the diagnosis and management of GERD, American Journal of Gastroenterology

  • Coffee or caffeine appears in the ingredients

    Contains coffee or caffeine, named among common reflux triggers in reflux guidance. Triggers vary by person, so keep to what you notice affects you.

    Source: NICE CG184, Dyspepsia and gastro-oesophageal reflux disease, which lists coffee among precipitants; NHS, Heartburn and acid reflux

  • Chocolate, cocoa or cacao appears in the ingredients

    Contains chocolate or cocoa, named among common reflux triggers in reflux guidance. Triggers are individual, so follow what you notice.

    Source: NICE CG184, Dyspepsia and gastro-oesophageal reflux disease, which lists chocolate among precipitants; NHS, Heartburn and acid reflux

What this looks like on a real product

A chocolate protein bar, 17.1 g of fat and 12.9 g of saturated fat per 100 g, with cocoa in the ingredients.

Scanned with no conditions set

Better occasionally

Ultra-processed, high in saturated fat, helped by its protein and fibre.

The same bar, scanned with acid reflux turned on

Better occasionally

The verdict holds, and two notes appear that the first profile never sees: the fat, and the cocoa. Reflux is the condition where the reasons matter more than the verdict, because only you know which of them is actually your trigger.

Both verdicts above are real output from the shipped Verella engine, run on live Open Food Facts data on 5 October 2026, with only the condition changed between the two profiles. Open Food Facts data changes over time, so a scan today can differ.

Worth knowing

  • Cocoa butter does not trigger the chocolate note. It is fat rather than the chocolate solids reflux guidance names, so the ingredient matching filters it out.
  • If coffee and chocolate are not your triggers, these notes will be noise for you. Verella cannot learn your triggers, so it reports what guidance names and leaves the judgement to you.

These rules encode broadly published patient guidance and are hedged on purpose. Verella cannot know your disease activity, your medication or what your care team has already advised, so every note defers to them.

Verella provides general nutrition information. It is not medical or dietary advice and it is not a substitute for a doctor or a registered dietitian.

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The other condition guides

Crohn's disease

5 rules

Irritable bowel syndrome

3 rules

Type 2 diabetes

2 rules

High blood pressure

1 rule

High cholesterol

2 rules

The ingredient watchlist runs on every scan as well, whatever conditions you have set. How the engine puts it all together.