With a packet of biscuits in one hand and her smartphone in the other, Nathalie sees red. Literally. "Look at that!" she says, showing a 0/100 score in red lettering on her screen. "This is one of Malo's [her 12-year-old son's] favourites but it's not only full of sugar and saturated fats, there are four additives as well including one health risk." She clicks on the additive E450. "A mineral which, taken in excess, can lead to bone marrow and kidney problems," she reads. "Honestly, that they can put this sort of thing in food aimed at children drives me nuts!"
Nathalie is using Yuka, an app developed in France in 2015 that now has 85 million users across 12 countries. Scan any barcode from its database of six million products – about 1,200 new ones added daily – and it delivers a traffic-light rating: green for good, yellow for could be better, red for bad. The UK is the third-biggest user base with around five million downloads, behind France's six million and the United States' 28 million. In the US, the app has a high-profile fan: Robert F Kennedy Jr, Donald Trump's Secretary of Health and Human Services, calls it his favourite.
“Food-tracking app Yuka has 5 million UK users as parents like Nathalie scan products for health risks, driving changing shopping habits.”
Co-founder and CEO Julie Chapon moved to the States three years ago because the app was doing so well there. "I'm thrilled to be in a country where there is still so much progress to be made," she says diplomatically. In France, Yuka is one facet of a wider food-tracking phenomenon. In 2012, French programmer Stéphane Gigandet launched a free, online and crowdsourced food product database called Open Food Facts.
But for Nathalie, the app has become a source of tension. After scanning an Italian alternative, the score is not much better. "Malo hates shopping with me now," she says. "You spend ages scanning and he can never have what he wants." When the app triggers a red alert, it suggests a healthier alternative – often organic, wholewheat, fruit and fibre. "You end up buying a lot more organic stuff so it's more expensive," she notes. The app covers not just food but cosmetics and toiletries too.
As more Britons scan their way through supermarket aisles, the question remains whether such apps truly change eating habits or simply shift spending. Yuka's rise suggests a growing appetite for transparency – but for parents like Nathalie, it comes with a side of family friction and a higher grocery bill.