My kitchen container inventory is as follows: a bottle of Garnier Ultimate Blends Honey Treasures conditioner, some leftover oat milk, and a pack of Extra sugar-free gum.
They’re all at least half full. I’m debating whether four slices of wholemeal bread will join them or not. This is a bit irritating; it’s not even stale. And it’s from Waitrose!
But I have no choice. They have scored too low to pass the test at my house. So I am going to kick out the offenders.
Why do I throw away perfectly good food? Because an app told me so. Hi, my name is Olivia and I’m addicted to Yuka.
Launched in 2017 by three French technicians to help people eat and live better, the app has since gained 50 million users in 12 countries.
Yuka was launched in 2017 by three French technicians to help people eat and live better, and has since gained 50 million users in 12 countries.
Scan the barcode of any food or cosmetic product and you will get a score out of 100 based on the amount of chemicals and additives it contains (pictured: Yuka app)
Scan the barcode of any food or cosmetic product and you will get a score out of 100 based on the amount of chemicals and additives it contains and, in the case of food, its nutritional value.
Along with the score is a rating ranging from “Excellent” to “Poor.” (I was given a “poor” verdict for a bottle of apparently noxious shampoo that got a score of zero, which makes one wonder if I should use a stronger word or perhaps sound a siren.)
I must admit that I am an obsessive person and the quality of the food I eat has been a fixation ever since Chris van Tulleken’s book, Ultra Processed People, opened my eyes to how full of junk many of our favorite foods are and the serious health consequences of consuming them.
A recent study by the World Health Organization blamed ultra-processed foods, along with tobacco, alcohol and fossil fuels, for causing the deaths of 2.7 million people each year in Europe.
The resulting craze for “whole foods” (those preserved almost in their natural state) has spread like a virus among my friends in their twenties. One of them, a lawyer, now gets up at 5.30am to bake loaves of sourdough bread.
So with my organic spinach and green juices I was the perfect target for Yuka, with her apparent authority on all things healthy. I now religiously scan everything before I buy.
Since I downloaded Yuka, the cost of my weekly grocery shop has increased by a whopping £15 (file photo)
Yuka is independent, its analysis is not based on affiliation with any brand, which makes it relatively reliable (file photo)
I’m not the only one; one colleague confessed that she finds it stressful to go to other people’s houses, as in polite society it is considered rude to go around “yuka-ing” the host’s hand soap.
However, getting a good rating on a product is a status symbol. It is no surprise that more affordable products tend to get a lower rating, as they contain lower quality ingredients that cost you valuable points.
I calculated that since I downloaded Yuka, the cost of my weekly grocery shop has increased by a whopping £15.
And if you’re not careful with Yuka before you get to the checkout, you can waste food inexcusably. I was shocked to see that even middle-class health queen Deliciously Ella’s orange and chocolate-dipped almond sachets were a “poor” snack (35/100) and would therefore be £2.90 wasted.
Yuka is independent and its analysis is not based on any affiliation with any brand, which makes it relatively reliable. But it is certainly not infallible. Its database contains information on five million products, but that information comes only from the app’s users, who provide data on their weekly shopping, and from the brands themselves.
And the ratings have been met with some skepticism.
For example, the zero-point shampoo mentioned above contains methylchloroisothiazolinone, a “dangerous” preservative used in cosmetics that is harmful to marine life and allergenic to humans.
Yuka’s database contains information on five million products
In other words, it deserves its poor rating. But if you look at Tesco’s orange and mango juice, which contains just orange juice and mango puree, with no preservatives, you get a “poor” verdict of 30/100. The breakdown shows it is “too calorific”, at 50kcal per 100ml, and “too sweet”, with 9.7g of natural sugars.
Those with a little perspective will see that the health benefits outweigh the negatives. But at first glance, this unique system makes a healthy choice seem akin to drinking a Red Bull with vodka for breakfast.
Beauty experts also point out that Yuka does not take into account the concentration or quantity of ingredients, as they are not normally listed in products. Therefore, it classifies UV filters as potential hormone disruptors and “dangerous”.
However, they are essential for sun protection and are permitted in concentrations of up to 10 percent in both the EU and the US.
Still, I continue to devour everything in sight. It’s gotten so bad that my roommate had to talk to me about Yuka’s limits. Who knew some people didn’t want to know the score of their Oreo cookies? (18/100, in case you were wondering.)
As she herself pointed out, she did not buy biscuits, chocolate or crisps in the hope that they would have great nutritional value.
So I have to keep my habit in the shadows, scanning when no one is looking, smugly reminding myself that it’s better than being addicted to UPF.
(tags to translate)dailymail
