I’ve been requested many instances over the previous few years to do a evaluation of the Yuka app. It’s at all times fascinating 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. Based on 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 follow the meals and diet aspect of the Yuka app.
While you scan a product, it provides you an general rating and score after which breaks down the constructive and detrimental attributes of a product based mostly on the Yuka app scoring system, which we are going to 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 corporations. There’s a premium, paid model of the app and that’s how they earn money.
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%. Based on the Yuka app’s web site, this 10% is a “bonus” that’s robotically given to natural merchandise.
The scoring system for dietary high quality relies on a way adopted by a number of European nations referred to as Nutri-Rating. Nutri-Rating grades the dietary high quality of meals merchandise based mostly on vitality (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 diet high quality. The system charges meals from ategory A to E, the place A signifies increased dietary high quality and E is decrease.
The classes are given a coloration based mostly on a visitors mild, the place the upper classes are inexperienced, descending to yellow after which crimson, relying on the general rating.
There may be 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 method has advantages on well being and lowered mortality, however these findings had been weak general, and plenty of components similar to 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 cut-off date doesn’t inform us a lot.
I’ve written about how one can interpret diet analysis right here.
While you use the Yuka app to scan a meals merchandise, it provides you a numerical rating out of 100 and a score of both “wonderful,” “good”, “poor,” or “dangerous.” For instance, the goldfish crackers I scanned got a rating of seven/100 (dangerous) as a result of they’d components that Yuka says needs to be averted, and an excessive amount of sodium and energy in response to the app. A few 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 apply. It may well create guilt and disgrace round meals and consuming, and it’s fully arbitrary. There aren’t any good or dangerous meals. Any meals can match right into a various food regimen, and meals ought to by no means be related to morality-based labels.
This form 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 diet. 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 diet (and low in saturated fats!). High quality of energy issues!
Labeling meals pretty much as good or dangerous also can create worry and anxiousness round meals, and lead individuals to develop orthorexic sort habits the place they turn out 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.
For those who’re consuming a food regimen filled with entire and minimally processed meals, you shouldn’t need to care concerning the ‘rating’ of your crackers or peanut butter or no matter.
The Yuka app ranks meals with increased quantities of saturated fat as “dangerous,” or not less than lowers their rating. Dairy merchandise are notably affected by this score system as a result of they’re naturally increased in saturated fats. Tips for saturated fats consumption are to maintain it at lower than 10% of our whole calorie consumption. After I scanned cheese, it received a low score as a result of it was too excessive in saturated fats and in addition misplaced factors for being too excessive in energy and sodium.
Meals comprise quite a lot of vitamins, and whereas cheese could 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.
Lowering the rating due to one facet 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 of “low energy” at 130 per cup. One meals could also be increased in energy than one other, however that meals can also 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 fully ludicrous.
It advised 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 could be a dangerous factor, however should 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 persistently refutes that. The 14 research that Yuka cites to again up their claims will not be convincing and look like cherrypicked to swimsuit their narrative. Rodent research, cell research, previous research, horribly accomplished research, even a research that discovered no adversarial results of MSG on people.
Possibly Yuka thinks the common individual isn’t going to examine their citations, however I certain as heck am.
I reviewed the analysis round MSG. Learn my submit about whether or not MSG is secure, right here.
This whole factor can result in chemophobia round meals, making individuals assume that what they’re consuming is poisonous. In actuality, all meals are completely secure. Meals components are properly regulated in Canada and the US, and there are limits on how a lot can be utilized.
Ought to your food regimen be comprised solely of Froot Loops? After all not. However let’s method our diets with some nuance and science right here.
PS: Froot Loops received the next 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 shocked within the least by what they are saying about natural meals.
The web site cites the well being advantages of an natural food regimen and states that natural meals are increased in antioxidants. Yuka states that individuals who eat extra natural meals have a lowered danger of most cancers, diabetes, and of being obese 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 exhibits 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 likely to have more healthy diets and life general in addition to higher entry to medical care, increased socioeconomic standing, and extra time for bodily exercise. These are all components that may affect illness danger excess of simply consuming natural meals over typical.
When the Yuka app suggests a “more healthy” various to a product, it’s often an natural model that’s going to be dearer and this will lead individuals to really feel dangerous about their meals decisions, and we don’t want any extra of that going round.
Natural meals will not be nutritionally superior to standard meals. With costs of meals already being so excessive, most individuals can’t afford to eat natural meals. As a dietitian, I don’t advocate natural over typical, and I don’t purchase natural meals myself.
There are many natural meals which can be ultra-processed, similar to cookies, crackers or frozen entrees. Whether or not natural or not, we needs to be consuming much less of those.
There may be completely no justification for Yuka to present an computerized 10% level bonus to natural meals, and this can be a useless giveaway that the app is principally non-evidence based mostly rubbish.
Yuka app evaluation: can Yuka assist us make higher meals decisions?
In relation to processed or packaged snack meals that rating low on Yuka, the app will counsel “more healthy” alternate options. The alternate options could also be decrease in sodium or sugar, however are they actually going to be an appropriate various for the individual based mostly on their preferences, funds, and so forth?
For instance, the Goldish cracker’s top-rated various was an natural, gluten-free cracker that in my view, tastes like loss of life and in addition prices way more. What number of youngsters need Mary’s crackers? Significantly, even I don’t need these issues. Will 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 the next rating, nevertheless it isn’t a better option. Your physique goes to digest that sugar the identical method as typical 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 part we eat must be bodily nourishing. A nutritious diet has quite a lot of meals….and no guilt hooked up.
Consuming extra entire meals and fewer ultra-processed ones is at all times 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 worry, disgrace, and anxiousness it could possibly create round meals, outweigh any profit it could have.
I wouldn’t advocate the Yuka app to anybody.
