Who is behind Yuka?
Yuka is a young and dynamic team of 11 motivated people who want to do a meaningful project.
Yuka collaborates with a nutritionist
Yuka also works with a nutritionist, who accompanies us on the nutrition program and the writing of articles, nutritionist Anthony Berthou, creator of the health and nutrition blog. Teaching health and sports professionals, he offers his experience to Yuka.
What the media think
The Yuka mobile application, which has more than 6 million downloads, has been available on the market since a few springs.
Yuka is part of the "health and fitness" applications that allow the user to scan the barcodes of products (food and carebidiol cosmetics ) to understand their composition and therefore their potential impact on health.
Under favorable conditions
Prior to our analysis, a quick survey, without any scientific statement, on social networks showed us that between 22 and 38% of Internet users say they use one or more applications of this type.
The public interest is therefore real. A public that loses its orientation behind its cart and in front of its plate and seeks tools of transparency and traceability.
The reasons for this concern are many: unhealthy food phobia exacerbated by food scandals (mad cow disease, chicken dioxin, horse meat lasagna, fipronil eggs, deadly sprouted seeds, infected infant milk), concerns about the global warming, which is often blamed on intensive agriculture and the food industry, the temptation of organic food, the supply of which is increasing, and the fear of diseases (heart, cancer, dementia).
Obviously, the race for the "health" logo is in full swing. That's why apps like Yuka are very timely.
Between inconsistencies and presumptions
Yucca's database combines different sources, most of which are scientifically sound and some less so. It includes Open Food Facts (OFF), Nutri-Score, EFSA (European Food Safety Authority), ANSES (National Agency for Food Safety, Environment and Work), IARC (International Agency for Research on Cancer ), labels for organic production "AB" (France) and "Eurofeuille" (Europe), but also "independent" studies and various works.
The application evaluation algorithm is based on 60% of the final evaluation of the nutritional composition (Nutri-Score), additives (30% of the evaluation) and organic / non-organic production sector (10 % of assessment). The result is a triple score: a score of 100 points, a color code (green, yellow, orange, red) and an adjective (excellent, good, mediocre, bad).
Sometimes Yucca flirts with assumptions (organic products are better, products with sweeteners are preferred, flavors are classified as additives), which can skew the results of the algorithm and the alternatives presented as "healthier". .
Organic olives, for example, have a higher value, although they are much saltier than non-organic olives.
With the same nutritional qualities, non-organic honey (30/100) is defined as "poor" compared to its organic equivalent (60/100), which is declared "good". However, organic is an obligation of means, not of results.
Yucca clearly supports the precautionary principle when it comes to supplements. Even if it means being alarmist. But the terms "risk" and "hazard" are not the same. Hazard is a potential source of harm. Risk, on the other hand, takes into account exposure: it is the probability that this hazard will occur (or not). We found many discrepancies.
In conclusion, if the intention is good, the promise is like the Holy Grail: it is now utopian to believe that one can "evaluate" a food in this way. There are no "good" or "bad" foods in the diet. The question is more complicated and the answer is ambiguous.
The introduction of Nutri-Score on packaging last year already gives consumers a quick and easy tool for better food choices.
Nutri-score gives an overall evaluation of the nutritional value of a food in a single letter. It takes into account the parameters to favor (fibers, proteins, fruits, vegetables and nuts) and the parameters to limit (kilocalories
long live Yuka, download the application below:
Apple:
https://apps.apple.com/en/app/yuka-product-scan/id1092799236
android
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=io.yuka.android
Our products rated on YUKA
