EWG app to tell if food is healthy

Washington-based Environmental Working Group (EWG) has come up with a new food database and mobile app that contains ratings and other information about nutrition and ingredients.

The non-profit research and advocacy organisation said the initiative is aimed at ensuring that people can make greener, healthier and cleaner food choices.

The database will include more than 80,000 foods from about 1,500 brands in a simple, searchable, online format.

Users will also be able to access information concerning food additives such as nitrites or potassium bromate and contaminants like arsenic and mercury; and the degree a product has been processed.

Every product in the database has an overall score from one (best) to ten (worst). Meat and dairy products that are likely to be produced with antibiotics and hormones and fruits and vegetables that have a possibility of being contaminated with pesticide residues are also identified by the product.

Speaking about the product, EWG’s director of research Renee Sharp said: "When you think about healthy food, you have to think beyond the nutrition facts panel. 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."

The database’s interactive function also allows users to customise each product’s nutrition facts panel by their age, gender, and life stage, including pregnancy.

Searches can also be limited according to particular food types such as certified organic, GMO-free, or gluten-free foods.

The organisation also released an analysis of the 80,000 products in its database which revealed that almost 25% of the products on the list scored in the worst category of eight to ten.

The study also revealed that nearly 60% of the foods in the database contained at least one form of added sugar.

EWG’s president and cofounder Ken Cook said: "We developed EWG’s Food Scores in recognition of two trends. First, Americans are becoming increasingly concerned about excessive amounts of sugar, salt, fat and other unhealthy ingredients in supermarket food. Second, they no longer trust big food companies or popular brands to put health before profits, not even the health of our kids. With EWG’s Food Scores, shoppers can quickly see what food companies are really putting into their food."

---

Image: The EWG database and app will help consumers decide which food product is more or less healthy. Photo: courtesy of KEKO64 / freedigitalphotos.net.