I’ve been requested many instances over the previous few years to do a evaluation of the Yuka app. It’s all the time attention-grabbing seeing apps that purport to assist individuals make higher decisions with their meals, as a result of inevitably these apps cut back these decisions to some arbitrary class of ‘good’ and ‘dangerous.’
How does Yuka decide if a meals is ‘good’ or ‘dangerous’? And what’s the profit or hurt of utilizing an app like this? Let’s get into it.
What’s the Yuka App?
The Yuka app was initially launched in France in 2017 and later launched in Canada and the US in 2022. In response to their web site, they’ve over 55 million customers.
The app permits customers to scan barcodes of meals and beauty merchandise and offers them a score of how “wholesome” or not they’re. For merchandise with a decrease rating, the app suggests another option that they deem to be ‘higher’.
For this Yuka app evaluation, we’ll stick with the meals and vitamin aspect of the Yuka app.
While you scan a product, it offers you an total rating and score after which breaks down the constructive and adverse attributes of a product based mostly on the Yuka app scoring system, which we’ll get to.
The app additionally classifies meals as “good” or “dangerous” based mostly on the general rating.
Yuka additionally prides itself on being unbiased and never influenced by meals firms. There’s a premium, paid model of the app and that’s how they earn a living.
How does the Yuka app rating merchandise?
The Yuka app scores merchandise based mostly on three components: dietary high quality is 60% of the rating, the presence of components is 30%, and a product being natural or not is 10%. In response to the Yuka app’s web site, this 10% is a “bonus” that’s mechanically given to natural merchandise.
The scoring system for dietary high quality is predicated on a technique adopted by a number of European international locations referred to as Nutri-Rating. Nutri-Rating grades the dietary high quality of meals merchandise based mostly on power (energy), sugars, saturated fat, sodium, fibre, and protein and of fruit, greens, legumes and nuts. A front-of-package labeling system is then used, which breaks down meals into 5 classes based mostly on vitamin high quality. The system charges meals from ategory A to E, the place A signifies larger dietary high quality and E is decrease.
The classes are given a shade based mostly on a visitors gentle, the place the upper classes are inexperienced, descending to yellow after which crimson, relying on the general rating.
There’s analysis on Nutri-Rating however as I’ve stated many instances, simply because analysis exists, doesn’t imply it’s good analysis. This research discovered associations (not causations) that utilizing this technique has advantages on well being and lowered mortality, however these findings had been weak total, and plenty of components resembling genetics and environmental components weren’t considered. The research used meals frequency questionnaires, that are notoriously inaccurate, to evaluate dietary patterns. They solely assessed diets at baseline, after which adopted up a number of years later. We all know that folks can change their consuming habits and life-style habits over time, so making conclusions based mostly on one survey at one time limit doesn’t inform us a lot.
I’ve written about the way to interpret vitamin analysis right here.
While you use the Yuka app to scan a meals merchandise, it offers you a numerical rating out of 100 and a score of both “glorious,” “good”, “poor,” or “dangerous.” For instance, the goldfish crackers I scanned got a rating of seven/100 (dangerous) as a result of that they had components that Yuka says must be averted, and an excessive amount of sodium and energy based on the app. A number of the constructive attributes given had been that the crackers had 3g of protein, and had been low in saturated fats.
The pure peanut butter I scanned was given 69/100 (good), however misplaced factors for being too excessive in energy and saturated fats.
Categorizing meals as “good” or “dangerous” is a horrible observe. It could create guilt and disgrace round meals and consuming, and it’s utterly arbitrary. There aren’t any good or dangerous meals. Any meals can match right into a assorted weight loss plan, and meals ought to by no means be related to morality-based labels.
This kind of narrative doesn’t assist anybody be more healthy (particularly emotionally – and that issues simply as a lot as bodily well being), and it tends to create extra confusion round vitamin. Peanut butter has a lot of wholesome fat, nutritional vitamins and minerals. This isn’t the 80’s after we had been all avoiding fats.
I can’t even think about anybody giving peanut butter factors off for being excessive in energy – it’s a NUT BUTTER. It’s additionally filled with vitamin (and low in saturated fats!). High quality of energy issues!
Labeling meals pretty much as good or dangerous may also create concern and anxiousness round meals, and lead individuals to develop orthorexic kind habits the place they grow to be overly centered on making wholesome decisions. That is horrible for our psychological well being and takes away from the truth that we don’t eat meals in isolation. It’s the totality of our diets that matter.
In the event you’re consuming a weight loss plan filled with complete and minimally processed meals, you shouldn’t should care concerning the ‘rating’ of your crackers or peanut butter or no matter.
The Yuka app ranks meals with larger quantities of saturated fat as “dangerous,” or no less than lowers their rating. Dairy merchandise are significantly affected by this score system as a result of they’re naturally larger in saturated fats. Tips for saturated fats consumption are to maintain it at lower than 10% of our complete calorie consumption. After I scanned cheese, it received a low score as a result of it was too excessive in saturated fats and likewise misplaced factors for being too excessive in energy and sodium.
Meals comprise a wide range of vitamins, and whereas cheese might have extra saturated fats (in comparison with lower-fat milk or yogurt for instance), it’s a good supply of protein, calcium and different nutritional vitamins and minerals. Analysis additionally means that the saturated fats in dairy merchandise is just not a danger issue for irritation or coronary heart illness.
Decreasing the rating due to one side is problematic, and letting that decide the general dietary worth of the meals, simply leads individuals to be confused about making wholesome decisions.
The calorie score system additionally appears a bit off to me. Cheese had 120 energy per serving and was deemed “a bit too caloric,” however 2% milk was thought-about “low energy” at 130 per cup. One meals could also be larger in energy than one other, however that meals may be extra satiating. As soon as once more, this categorization can result in obsessive behaviours round meals and counting energy. Not wholesome.
Yuka app and components
Earlier than I say something, let me share that I discovered this a part of their score system to be utterly ludicrous.
It informed me that the monocalcium phosphate in Goldfish Crackers was “hazardous,” however the rationalization they gave doesn’t show something. It solely states that getting an excessive amount of phosphorous can result in issues. An excessive amount of of something is usually a dangerous factor, however in the event you’re going to touch upon the risks of random components, it’s a must to qualify these feedback with the precise quantity of this additive within the product, and the way a lot of the product you would need to ingest to trigger hurt.
Extremely, the app additionally categorized the monosodium glutamate (MSG) in my daughter’s Takis as ‘hazardous,’ when science constantly refutes that. The 14 research that Yuka cites to again up their claims aren’t convincing and look like cherrypicked to go well with their narrative. Rodent research, cell research, previous research, horribly finished research, even a research that discovered no adversarial results of MSG on people.
Perhaps Yuka thinks the common individual isn’t going to test their citations, however I positive as heck am.
I reviewed the analysis round MSG. Learn my submit about whether or not MSG is secure, right here.
This complete factor can result in chemophobia round meals, making individuals suppose that what they’re consuming is poisonous. In actuality, all meals are completely secure. Meals components are nicely regulated in Canada and the US, and there are limits on how a lot can be utilized.
Ought to your weight loss plan be comprised solely of Froot Loops? In fact not. However let’s method our diets with some nuance and science right here.
PS: Froot Loops received a better rating than Multigrain Cheerios and Goldfish crackers.
Natural meals and Yuka app
After the entire Yuka app ‘additive’ scenario, I’m unhappy to say that I’m not stunned within the least by what they are saying about natural meals.
The web site cites the well being advantages of an natural weight loss plan and states that natural meals are larger in antioxidants. Yuka states that individuals who eat extra natural meals have a lowered danger of most cancers, diabetes, and of being chubby or overweight. They cite research to again up these claims, however these research solely present associations and never causation.
That’s as a result of there aren’t any direct hyperlinks between natural meals and improved markers of well being. None.
I’ve really written concerning the research they cited that reveals that individuals who eat extra natural meals have a decrease danger of most cancers. There was a media frenzy when this research got here out, however what they don’t say is that individuals who eat extra natural meals are inclined to have more healthy diets and life total in addition to higher entry to medical care, larger socioeconomic standing, and extra time for bodily exercise. These are all components that may influence illness danger way over simply consuming natural meals over standard.
When the Yuka app suggests a “more healthy” different to a product, it’s often an natural model that’s going to be dearer and this may lead individuals to really feel dangerous about their meals decisions, and we don’t want any extra of that going round.
Natural meals aren’t nutritionally superior to traditional meals. With costs of meals already being so excessive, most individuals can’t afford to eat natural meals. As a dietitian, I don’t suggest natural over standard, and I don’t purchase natural meals myself.
There are many natural meals which are ultra-processed, resembling cookies, crackers or frozen entrees. Whether or not natural or not, we must be consuming much less of those.
There’s completely no justification for Yuka to provide an automated 10% level bonus to natural meals, and this can be a lifeless giveaway that the app is principally non-evidence based mostly rubbish.
Yuka app evaluation: can Yuka assist us make higher meals decisions?
In terms of processed or packaged snack meals that rating low on Yuka, the app will recommend “more healthy” alternate options. The alternate options could also be decrease in sodium or sugar, however are they actually going to be an appropriate different for the individual based mostly on their preferences, finances, and so forth?
For instance, the Goldish cracker’s top-rated different was an natural, gluten-free cracker that in my view, tastes like dying and likewise prices much more. What number of children need Mary’s crackers? Critically, even I don’t need these issues. Can we should be guilting mother and father into shopping for dearer alternate options when the unique is completely secure?
If the app suggests, for instance, selecting an natural cookie that’s made with natural sugar, it could have a better rating, but it surely isn’t a more sensible choice. Your physique goes to digest that sugar the identical means as standard sugar, and scoring issues this fashion is deceptive. Sugar is sugar, and natural sugar is just not more healthy.
Most of us know what meals are nutritious and that make us really feel good. Probably the most nutritious meals don’t sometimes include a barcode that may be scanned, however not every thing we eat must be bodily nourishing. A nutritious diet has a wide range of meals….and no guilt hooked up.
Consuming extra complete meals and fewer ultra-processed ones is all the time very best, and we don’t want the app to inform us that.
The dearth of science on this app’s scoring system, plus the concern, disgrace, and anxiousness it may possibly create round meals, outweigh any profit it could have.
I wouldn’t suggest the Yuka app to anybody.
