Think about how many QR codes you've scanned in the last few years – restaurant menus, bar tabs, parking meters, event check-ins. 

Now there’s another one worth a closer look.

The QR code on your favorite beverage can or bottle will connect to something new: GoodToKnowFacts.org, a beverage ingredient database designed to help consumers better understand what’s in their drinks.

Through a simple scan, consumers can access information on more than 140 beverage ingredients, including:

• What its purpose is
• Where it’s commonly found
• What other names the ingredient goes by
• How food safety agencies around the world evaluate it

Good to Know was built around a simple idea: when consumers have clear, fact-based and easily accessible information and context about ingredients, they’re empowered to make decisions that are right for themselves and their families.

Transparency is More Than Just a Label 

Families have been flipping over bottles and squinting at labels for decades. The challenge is that traditional ingredient labels only tell you what's in the product, not much about the ingredients themselves.

That gap between "what's listed" and "what it is?" is exactly what Good to Know was built to address.

And the facts shared are directly from the experts. The platform pulls directly from published safety assessments by the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA), the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), Health Canada, and the Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives – all in one place, for the first time.

A Shared Commitment, Not a Mandate 

What’s particularly noteworthy is how Good to Know came together.

America's leading beverage companies, including The Coca-Cola Company, Keurig Dr Pepper and PepsiCo, voluntarily committed to integrating Good to Know into the QR codes on their products. There was no government mandate requiring them to do so. Instead, these companies reached a conclusion: consumers deserve greater access to information about the ingredients in their beverages.

This is also part of a longer story. Twenty years ago, the beverage industry voluntarily removed full-calorie beverages from schools and as a result, beverage calories in schools dropped 94%. They were the first industry to put easy-to-understand calorie counts prominently on the front of every bottle and can.

Good to Know is the next chapter in that same commitment: voluntary action, driven by accountability to consumers.

A Smart Way to Understand What’s in Your Drink

Consumers today are asking more questions about what goes into the products they buy – and that's a good thing. Good to Know is built for exactly that consumer: someone who wants facts from trusted sources.

The platform doesn’t tell people what to drink or what to think. Instead, it provides facts and context so that consumers make their own informed decisions. In an era when information is readily available but often scattered, Good to Know is a great place to start. Now, it’s more accessible than ever through a QR code right on the product. 

So, the next time you crack open a can or twist off a bottle cap, take a second to scan the code. You might be surprised how much you learn.

Ready to explore? Visit GoodtoKnowFacts.org