Yuka App Evaluation: Scan or Rip-off?

I’ve been requested many occasions over the previous few years to do a overview of the Yuka app. It’s at all times attention-grabbing seeing apps that purport to assist folks make higher selections with their meals, as a result of inevitably these apps cut back these selections to some arbitrary class of ‘good’ and ‘unhealthy.’

How does Yuka decide if a meals is ‘good’ or ‘unhealthy’? 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 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 overview, we’ll stick with the meals and diet aspect of the Yuka app.

If you scan a product, it offers you an total rating and score after which breaks down the constructive and unfavourable attributes of a product primarily based on the Yuka app scoring system, which we are going to get to. 

The app additionally classifies meals as “good” or “unhealthy” primarily based on the general rating.

Yuka additionally prides itself on being impartial and never influenced by meals corporations. There’s a premium, paid model of the app and that’s how they generate income.

How does the Yuka app rating merchandise?

The Yuka app scores merchandise primarily based 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 relies on a way adopted by a number of European international locations referred to as Nutri-Rating. Nutri-Rating grades the dietary high quality of meals merchandise primarily based 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 primarily based on diet high quality. The system charges meals from ategory A to E, the place A signifies greater dietary high quality and E is decrease.

The classes are given a colour primarily based 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 mentioned many occasions, simply because analysis exists, doesn’t imply it’s good analysis. This examine discovered associations (not causations) that utilizing this method has advantages on well being and lowered mortality, however these findings had been weak total, and lots of components akin to genetics and environmental components weren’t considered. The examine 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 primarily based on one survey at one time limit doesn’t inform us a lot.

I’ve written about the way to interpret diet analysis right here.

If you use the Yuka app to scan a meals merchandise, it offers you a numerical rating out of 100 and a score of both “wonderful,” “good”, “poor,” or “unhealthy.” For instance, the goldfish crackers I scanned got a rating of seven/100 (unhealthy) as a result of they’d components that Yuka says ought to be averted, and an excessive amount of sodium and energy in response to 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 “unhealthy” is a horrible apply. It could actually create guilt and disgrace round meals and consuming, and it’s fully arbitrary. There are not any good or unhealthy meals. Any meals can match right into a assorted food 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 diet. Peanut butter has a number 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 full of diet (and low in saturated fats!). High quality of energy issues!

Labeling meals nearly as good or unhealthy can even create concern and anxiousness round meals, and lead folks to develop orthorexic kind habits the place they grow to be overly centered 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.

Should you’re consuming a food plan stuffed 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 greater quantities of saturated fat as “unhealthy,” or not less than lowers their rating. Dairy merchandise are notably affected by this score system as a result of they’re naturally greater in saturated fats. Pointers for saturated fats consumption are to maintain it at lower than 10% of our complete calorie consumption. After I scanned cheese, it obtained 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 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 isn’t a danger issue for irritation or coronary heart illness.

Decreasing the rating due to one facet is problematic, and letting that decide the general dietary worth of the meals, simply leads folks to be confused about making wholesome selections. 

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 greater in energy than one other, however that meals might 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 instructed 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 generally is a unhealthy factor, however should you’re going to touch upon the risks of random components, you need 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 swimsuit their narrative. Rodent research, cell research, previous research, horribly executed research, even a examine that discovered no opposed results of MSG on people.

Perhaps Yuka thinks the common individual isn’t going to test their citations, however I certain as heck am.

I reviewed the analysis round MSG. Learn my submit about whether or not MSG is protected, right here.

This complete factor can result in chemophobia round meals, making folks assume that what they’re consuming is poisonous. In actuality, all meals are completely protected. 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 plan be comprised fully of Froot Loops? After all not. However let’s strategy our diets with some nuance and science right here.

PS: Froot Loops obtained a better 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 food plan and states that natural meals are greater 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 are not any direct hyperlinks between natural meals and improved markers of well being. None.

I’ve truly written concerning the examine they cited that reveals that individuals who devour extra natural meals have a decrease danger of most cancers. There was a media frenzy when this examine 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, greater socioeconomic standing, and extra time for bodily exercise. These are all components that may impression illness danger excess of simply consuming natural meals over typical.

When the Yuka app suggests a “more healthy” various to a product, it’s normally an natural model that’s going to be costlier and this will lead folks to really feel unhealthy about their meals selections, and we don’t want any extra of that going round.

Natural meals aren’t 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 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 may be completely no justification for Yuka to provide an automated 10% level bonus to natural meals, and it is a useless giveaway that the app is principally non-evidence primarily based rubbish.

Yuka app overview: can Yuka assist us make higher meals selections?

On the subject 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 various for the individual primarily based on their preferences, finances, and so on?

For instance, the Goldish cracker’s top-rated various was an natural, gluten-free cracker that in my view, tastes like dying and in addition prices way more. What number of youngsters need Mary’s crackers? Severely, even I don’t need these issues. Will we must be guilting mother and father into shopping for costlier alternate options when the unique is completely protected?

If the app suggests, for instance, selecting an natural cookie that’s made with natural sugar, it might have a better rating, however it isn’t a more sensible choice. Your physique goes to digest that sugar the identical approach as typical sugar, and scoring issues this manner is deceptive. Sugar is sugar, and natural sugar isn’t 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 all the pieces we eat needs to be bodily nourishing. A nutritious diet has quite a lot of meals….and no guilt connected.

Consuming extra entire meals and fewer ultra-processed ones is at all times perfect, 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 could actually create round meals, outweigh any profit it might have. 

I wouldn’t advocate the Yuka app to anybody.