A NEW MOBILE app has been release, that will aims to help consumers better understand what they are eating.
The new tool is a complete comprehensive food-rating database, and will among other things, allow users to pick greener, healthier food brands with its easy-to-use format.
Makers – Environmental Working Group (EWG) – says it’s the first tool of its kind on the market and will operators through a scoring system that factors in not only nutrition, but also ingredients of concern, such as food additives, and contaminants. It also estimates the degree to which foods have been processed.
“When you think about healthy food, you have to think beyond the Nutrition Facts panel,” said Renee Sharp, EWG’s director of research. “It doesn’t always tell the whole story. EWG’s Food Scores shows that certain foods that we think are good for us may actually be much less so because they contain questionable food additives or toxic contaminants.”
Users can find an overall score, from 1 (best) to 10 (worst), for every product in the food database. EWG’s product profiles include highly detailed information on how each food stacks up in terms of nutritional content and whether they contain questionable additives, such as nitrites or potassium bromate, or harmful contaminants, such as arsenic and mercury, and which foods have the lowest and highest processing concerns. They also identify meat and dairy products that are likely produced with antibiotics and hormones and highlight the fruits and vegetables that are likely to be contaminated with pesticide residues.
The food database also has a unique, interactive function that allows users to customise each product’s nutrition facts panel by their age, gender, and life stage, including pregnancy. Users can also limit their searches to find only certified organic, GMO-free, or gluten-free foods.
