Can an App Tell You If Your Food Is Ultra-Processed?

The Trend: By now, we’re well aware of the potential health risks related to eating ultra-processed foods. That’s led to a growing interest in and market for “healthy” snack food options — but consumers are also becoming more skeptical. And some brands and products that once basked in the glow of a health halo may not be as squeaky-clean as consumers once believed — recent research from UC Davis found that 89% of foods labeled as being made with avocado oil are actually cut with other cheaper oils. 

What People Are Saying: As food labels get harder to decipher and trust, apps like Yuka, Oasis, Processed, and Fooducate have entered the market. They scan product labels to tell consumers exactly what’s in the products before they buy them: ingredients, allergens, nutritional profile, and processing levels. Yuka, for example, calculates a health score out of 100 and ranks products from Bad to Excellent, while Oasis tells you if microplastics are likely present. 

What to Know: Experts agree that eating mostly whole, minimally processed foods is best. Apps could help parse confusing ingredient listings and marketing claims. Still, the science used in some of these apps isn’t always solid, and food assessments from app to app can be inconsistent.