App-y to know more about healthy food?
As someone who reads food labels to a certain extent but doesn’t treat it like a strict rule, I’ve always found the process of checking ingredients both time-consuming and, at times, confusing.
If you're not familiar with the terminology of chemical names, it can feel like a pointless task.
Enter Yuka, an app designed to make this easier by providing a health score for food items (if they have a barcode) on a scale of 0 to 100.
Of course, I had to give it a try. One of the first surprises was seeing low scores for well-marketed ‘health’ products like Actimel and Benecol, which both scored below 40/100. It was a bit of a shock, given how these products are promoted as beneficial for health.
That said, the app’s initial score doesn't always tell the whole story; to understand why a product scored the way it did, you need to click through for more details.
In my own test, I scanned an Apple & White Tea Protein Water, which earned a respectable 74/100.
The protein comes from whey, which I don't have an issue with, but the product’s low sugar content received a green rating—even though it contained artificial sweeteners.
Interestingly, Yuka also labelled it as ‘organic’, although the packaging made no mention of it. This raised questions for me about the accuracy of the data. The green colour of the drink—unusual for apple juice—comes from copper chlorophyllin.
So, how reliable is Yuka? The app claims to have robust data, drawing from both user submissions and brand-provided information. According to Yuka’s website, all user-submitted data is verified before being published. The scoring system weighs 60% of its score on nutritional value, using Nutri-Score (a European Union and WHO-approved system), 30% on the presence of additives, and 10% on whether the product is organic.
That sounds great in theory, but some results are questionable. For instance, Women’s Health magazine published an article where a writer scanned everything she ate for a week. While making a sandwich, she found her mayonnaise scored just 15/100, whereas a jar of pasta sauce scored 90/100.
To me, this seems off—pasta sauces are often packed with sugar and salt, while a spoonful of mayonnaise isn’t likely to ruin anyone’s diet.
This highlights a key limitation of Yuka: context matters. I personally wouldn’t stop using mayonnaise just because it scored low; it’s all about moderation.
One aspect worth noting is the potential for addictive behaviour.
The Women’s Health writer admitted that scanning food items became a bit of an obsession. This is a real concern raised by some experts, who worry that apps like Yuka can lead to food anxiety or overly restrictive eating habits.
The app, with its clear-cut scores, could oversimplify nutrition for some users, encouraging them to make decisions solely based on numbers rather than a broader understanding of food.
That said, Yuka has its strengths. It currently includes over five million products and has a sizable team behind it.
The app is free, though users can opt for a paid version that offers features like alerts for products containing palm oil.
For people who want quick guidance or are concerned about specific ingredients, Yuka is undoubtedly a helpful tool.
So, am I pro or anti-Yuka? I’m still undecided. While it’s a useful app for those who want to make informed choices, it’s not perfect. Th
e scores can sometimes feel arbitrary or incomplete, and there’s always the risk of becoming overly reliant on it.
Like most things in life, it’s best used in moderation.
IMPORTANT
CORRECTION:
In my article on cooking a chicken in a watermelon a few weeks back, I mentioned Miss Holly’s age as 7. She made me aware that she is in fact 8 and asked me to correct the issue.