I’ve been requested many occasions over the previous few years to do a evaluate of the Yuka app. It’s all the time attention-grabbing seeing apps that purport to assist individuals make higher selections with their meals, as a result of inevitably these apps scale back these selections 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 line with their web site, they’ve over 55 million customers.
The app permits customers to scan barcodes of meals and beauty merchandise and provides them a ranking of how “wholesome” or not they’re. For merchandise with a decrease rating, the app suggests another choice that they deem to be ‘higher’.
For this Yuka app evaluate, we’ll persist with the meals and diet aspect of the Yuka app.
While you scan a product, it offers you an total rating and ranking after which breaks down the optimistic and unfavourable 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%. In line with 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 way adopted by a number of European international locations known 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 larger dietary high quality and E is decrease.
The classes are given a shade based mostly on a visitors mild, the place the upper classes are inexperienced, descending to yellow after which purple, relying on the general rating.
There’s analysis on Nutri-Rating however as I’ve stated many occasions, 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 diminished mortality, however these findings have been weak total, and lots of components akin 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 individuals can change their consuming habits and way of life 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 easy methods to interpret diet 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 ranking 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 they’d components that Yuka says ought to be prevented, and an excessive amount of sodium and energy based on the app. A few of the optimistic attributes given have been that the crackers had 3g of protein, and have 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 will possibly create guilt and disgrace round meals and consuming, and it’s fully arbitrary. There are not any good or dangerous meals. Any meals can match right into a diverse weight-reduction plan, and meals ought to by no means be related to morality-based labels.
This type 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 have 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 full of diet (and low in saturated fats!). High quality of energy issues!
Labeling meals pretty much as good or dangerous also can create concern and anxiousness round meals, and lead individuals to develop orthorexic sort habits the place they turn out to be overly targeted on making wholesome selections. 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 case you’re consuming a weight-reduction plan stuffed with entire and minimally processed meals, you shouldn’t need to care in regards to 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 a minimum of lowers their rating. Dairy merchandise are significantly affected by this ranking system as a result of they’re naturally larger in saturated fats. Pointers for saturated fats consumption are to maintain it at lower than 10% of our whole calorie consumption. After I scanned cheese, it obtained a low ranking 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 threat 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 selections.
The calorie ranking 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 larger 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 ranking system to be fully ludicrous.
It advised me that the monocalcium phosphate in Goldfish Crackers was “hazardous,” however the clarification 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 for those who’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 should not convincing and look like cherrypicked to swimsuit their narrative. Rodent research, cell research, outdated research, horribly carried out research, even a research that discovered no hostile results of MSG on people.
Perhaps Yuka thinks the common particular person isn’t going to examine their citations, however I positive as heck am.
I reviewed the analysis round MSG. Learn my put up about whether or not MSG is protected, 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 protected. Meals components are effectively regulated in Canada and the US, and there are limits on how a lot can be utilized.
Ought to your weight-reduction plan be comprised completely of Froot Loops? In fact not. However let’s strategy our diets with some nuance and science right here.
PS: Froot Loops obtained the next rating than Multigrain Cheerios and Goldfish crackers.
Natural meals and Yuka app
After the entire Yuka app ‘additive’ state of affairs, 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 weight-reduction plan and states that natural meals are larger in antioxidants. Yuka states that individuals who eat extra natural meals have a diminished threat 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 are not any direct hyperlinks between natural meals and improved markers of well being. None.
I’ve truly written in regards to the research they cited that reveals that individuals who devour extra natural meals have a decrease threat 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 existence total in addition to higher entry to medical care, larger socioeconomic standing, and extra time for bodily exercise. These are all components that may impression illness threat excess of 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 costlier and this may lead individuals to really feel dangerous about their meals selections, and we don’t want any extra of that going round.
Natural meals should not 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 standard, and I don’t purchase natural meals myself.
There are many natural meals which are ultra-processed, akin to cookies, crackers or frozen entrees. Whether or not natural or not, we ought to be consuming much less of those.
There’s completely no justification for Yuka to present an automated 10% level bonus to natural meals, and it is a useless giveaway that the app is mainly non-evidence based mostly rubbish.
Yuka app evaluate: can Yuka assist us make higher meals selections?
With regards to processed or packaged snack meals that rating low on Yuka, the app will counsel “more healthy” options. The options could also be decrease in sodium or sugar, however are they actually going to be an appropriate different for the particular person based mostly on their preferences, finances, and so on?
For instance, the Goldish cracker’s top-rated different was an natural, gluten-free cracker that for my part, tastes like demise and in addition prices much more. What number of youngsters need Mary’s crackers? Severely, even I don’t need these issues. Will we have to be guilting dad and mom into shopping for costlier options when the unique is completely protected?
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 more sensible choice. Your physique goes to digest that sugar the identical approach 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. Essentially the most nutritious meals don’t sometimes include a barcode that may be scanned, however not every little thing 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 all the time perfect, and we don’t want the app to inform us that.
The shortage of science on this app’s scoring system, plus the concern, disgrace, and anxiousness it might probably create round meals, outweigh any profit it could have.
I wouldn’t advocate the Yuka app to anybody.
