Food Additives 2 vs Cooking Ex Optimizer
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Food Additives 2
This app provides a comprehensive, searchable database of over 450 food additives, detailing their safety, potential health risks, and dietary implications. It's designed for health-conscious individuals, parents, and those with specific dietary needs, offering offline access to crucial information.
- Searchable database of 450+ food additives
- Offline access to additive information
- Color-coded risk assessment
- Detailed side effect information
- Dietary restriction compatibility
- Wikipedia integration for more detail
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► This application is perfect for those at risk, the health conscious, parents, vegetarians, vegans and/or people on religious based diets. Food additives may have revolutionized the mass production of the food that we consume, but at what cost to your health? Fully searchable, this app lets you quickly & easily access the general information of 450+ food additives (no internet connection required!). ► Previous App Store Staff Favorite (USA) ► 4 Stars from MacLife ► iPhone, iPad, Mac (made for iPad) UNIVERSAL app support Not all food additives are bad for your health, but a large percentage have been associated with a whole range of potential health risks & side effects, that include: ■ Allergies & skin reactions ■ Asthma & breathing difficulties ■ Baby & infant related risks ■ Digestive upsets ■ Eye damage & effects ■ Genetic DNA mutations ■ Gluten intolerance (Celiac disease) ■ Histamine inhibitors / freeing ■ Hyperactivity in children ■ Migraines & headaches ■ Tumors / carcinogens ■ Salicylate sensitivity (aspirin etc) ■ Vitamin deficiency and/or effects - ADDITIVE DATA LISTED & SORTED BY: ■ Name ■ Number (International Numbering System) ■ Risk type (i.e. dangerous, unsafe, unknown or safe) ■ Symptom type (i.e. asthma, gluten, tumors, allergies, digestive etc) ■ Diet type (i.e. substance derived from animal, plant, insect, bacteria or fermentation, synthetic, mineral etc) ■ Fully instant search support - ADDITIVE DETAILS SHOWN: ■ Additive number (e.g. E150b), additive name & other name they may go by ■ Substance origin (plant, synthetic, animal, mineral, fish, insect, bacteria, gas etc) ■ General use & function of the additive ■ Food industry classes & (coloring agent, preservative, emulsifier etc.) ■ Food products associated with the additive ■ Known & potential side effects relating to the additive ■ Maximum or adequate daily intake (ADI) of the additive ■ Dietary restrictions (helpful for vegetarian, vegan & religion based diets) ■ Countries unapproved for use as a food additive (currently Europe & Australian data) - OTHER KEY FEATURES: ■ Full instant search functionality ■ Wikipedia integration for even more detail. Each additive conveniently embeds Wikipedia within the app (internet required for this functionality) ■ Color coded by risk (red=danger, orange=unsafe, unknown=blue, safe=green) ■ Icons for all symptom types (i.e. asthma, gluten, tumors, allergies, digestive etc) ■ Icons for all substance origin types (i.e. synthetic, mineral, fish animal based etc) ■ Flag icons for countries unapproved (Europe & Australia) ■ Fast, inbuilt database, so no internet required ■ Fancy layout, scrolling and 3D flip card between additive overview & details page * PARTIAL multilingual language^ support inbuilt (labels, heading names etc. only. You can switch between English (native), French, German, Spanish, Italian (native), Dutch (native) & Japanese. Note: Languages that aren't native are software translated from native English NOTE: Data is consolidated from a number of public / open sources, including; CAC (Codex), FDA, Government Food Standards agencies etc and is for general private and non-medical use only.
Cooking Ex Optimizer
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Cooking Ex Optimizer is a kitchen companion built around live temperature prediction. Track every temperature at once - your steak, your oven, your sous vide bath - and the app projects when each one will reach its target. No more guessing. Tap Set to log a temperature. Tap Finish to lock in a target. Watch the countdown adjust as new readings come in. The chart shows your readings and the projected curve, with a green indicator that moves along the projection so you always know where things stand right now. Multiple tracks side by side Each track has its own name, target, and timeline. A summary strip under the page selector shows live readings and countdowns for every track at once - even when you are focused on a different one - so you can keep tabs on everything from a single screen. Tap a pill to switch. Smart projection The app fits a curve through your readings and extrapolates. The countdown ticks down in real time as new data refines the model. Once a target is reached, the display flips to a checkmark and counts time since reached. Hands-on chart Drag across the chart to inspect any time and temperature. Pinch to zoom the time axis. Tap a reading to edit it. Use plus to extend the forecast window further into the future, minus to bring the last reading back to the center. Camera capture Point your camera at a thermometer or oven display and the app reads the digits using the device on-board OCR, then logs them automatically. Beyond cooking Cooking Ex Optimizer keeps the original Experiment Optimizer toolkit. Define variables (binary or value range), get adaptive suggestions for the next experiment to run, record outcomes, and review live model confidence with clear explanations of the likely formulas behind your data. Export and import everything as JSON for collaboration. Built for cooks, researchers, and tinkerers who want one app for measurement, prediction, and learning. Works offline. No accounts. No tracking. No subscriptions.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is update cadence: Food Additives 2 at monthly against Cooking Ex Optimizer's every 9 months. Food Additives 2 also leads on chart position (#77 vs unranked) and iOS requirement (12.0 vs 15.6). Cooking Ex Optimizer's advantage is price ($1.99 vs $2.99). On ads, in-app purchases and device support there is nothing between them.
Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS
Food Additives 2 costs $2.99 and Cooking Ex Optimizer $1.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
Food Additives 2 ships an update monthly, Cooking Ex Optimizer every 9 months. The most recent releases landed on October 29, 2026 and October 24, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Food Additives 2 | Cooking Ex Optimizer |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $2.99 | $1.99 — better |
| Rating | 3.6 (9 ratings) — better | — |
| Positive reviews | 57.7% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 9 — better | — |
| Update frequency | Monthly — better | Every 9 months |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Paid | — |
| Best chart rank | #77 — better | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better | iPhone, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 12.0 — better | 15.6 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 24 MB | 3 MB |
| Age rating | 12+ | 4+ |
| Developer | IGRASS PTY LTD | Morten Punnerud |
Bugs and requests
Food Additives 2
Reported bugs
8 issues- App requires iOS 11+ update but not available for older devices
- Some E-numbers don't return results despite being in database
- Inconsistent information across entries
- Incorrect classifications (e.g., amaranth listed as synthetic dye)
- Missing information for some additives (e.g., brominated vegetable oil)
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- Charged twice for same app purchase
- Text readability issues with italic fonts
- Glare graphics interfering with text readability
Requested features
15 requests- Search functionality by name or number
- Expanded additive database with more entries
- Specific food product examples for each additive
- iPad version
- Landscape mode support
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- Ability to save or bookmark favorite additives
- More detailed gluten information
- Information about banned additives by FDA
- Larger, more readable text with zoom capability
- Removal of ads or sound effects
- Grouping by risk level and symptom categories
- Information on hydrogenated fats and other ingredients
- Spanish language support
- Clearer distinction between similar ingredient names
- More comprehensive health risk descriptions
Cooking Ex Optimizer
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
Food Additives 2
No in-app purchases
Cooking Ex Optimizer
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is Food Additives 2 free?
Is Cooking Ex Optimizer free?
Do Food Additives 2 or Cooking Ex Optimizer have ads?
Which is updated more often, Food Additives 2 or Cooking Ex Optimizer?
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