Walking through the grocery store, I pick up my phone, search for a bar code, and beep: My muesli gets a grade of B-plus. "No added sugars!," an app on my phone tells me, adding, "Nice! 100 percent whole grain."

The free app, called Fooducate, was created by Hemi Weingarten, a California man who once struggled to figure out safe and healthy options for his kids to eat.

The app has been downloaded nearly 10 million times since it was launched. The company more recently added a feature that analyzes ingredient lists so the app can discern between added sugars and those that are naturally occurring.

I was curious to try Fooducate because along with more than 2,600 readers, community members and Star Tribune colleagues, I'm trying to avoid all added sugars during the month of February. This means a lot more time spent reading labels. Good thing I discovered Fooducate, which made the job a lot easier.

We talked to Weingarten about glow-in-the-dark food, why deciphering food labels is so tricky and involving kids in making good food choices.

Q: How did Fooducate come about?

A: About 10 years ago my wife came home from the supermarket with a glow-in-the-dark yogurt for our three toddlers. At that time I knew nothing about nutrition. I was curious as to the source of the bright red color, and for the first time in my life, read a nutrition label.

I discovered that a controversial artificial color, red #40, was listed as an ingredient. That's when it hit me. I started to research additional ingredients and learned about the food industry. I didn't like many of the things I learned, and wanted to keep my kids safe.

Q: Why are food labels so confusing for the average shopper?

A: People don't speak Ingredient-ish. People have a hard time translating grams of sugar into teaspoons. Add to that all the health claims and marketing on the front of packages, it makes it very hard for a layperson to know what's really healthy. The goal of the Fooducate app is to be an artificial intelligence dietitian in your pocket.

Q: How did you come up with the algorithm to score the food?

A: We worked with world-renowned experts and dietitians, following USDA and FDA standards, and taking a conservative approach when it comes to questionable additives. For example, the FDA approves red #40, but parallel European agencies either ban it or require a warning label.

Q: How do you keep your database of products updated?

A: We have a data team working around the clock to add new products and edit existing ones. If a user scans the bar code of a product we don't have, she can snap pictures of it and submit it through the app. We'll then add it.

Q: What kind of feedback have you gotten from folks who use the app?

A: My favorite feedback is from parents who tell us they no longer have to say no to nagging kids. They give them the phone and tell them to choose whichever cereal they want as long as it gets a B-plus or higher.

You can still join us for the Sugar-Free Challenge. The goal is to avoid added sugar in February, take stock of how much you're consuming and make healthful changes. The Star Tribune is hosting a Facebook group to offer support, tips, facts and daily challenges: http://bit.ly/sugar freestrib.