I have written before about some of the great foodie apps I have on my phone that are food related. I've just recently discovered a new one that was so cool I had to tell you about it.* It's a free app called ipiit, available at the App Store and on Google Play.
Designed to make it easy for consumers to understand what's really in their food it has a scanner that you use on the bar code. Then depending on how you have configured your system it will tell you if you can eat that product or not.
When I downloaded the product I was able to go in and configure it for the things I wanted to avoid in food. They have a number of items and are increasing it all the time. In addition to covering major food allergies, they also cover a few additives. My current setup means that I can scan a food to avoid the following:
aspartame, cellulose, HFCS, gluten, milk protein, GMOs.
But the coolest thing, to me, was the ability to then go in to the Request New Preferences section. I'm hoping that they will add these as soon as possible as there are so many things in that section which I encourage people to avoid. Not only does this section lists artificial colors, flavors, and sweeteners, it lists a wide variety of foods, health conditions and a good range of additives.
I couldn't wait to go grocery shopping the next day. At the grocery store I used the scanner to scan items and see what I got. Just on a whim I scanned a box of Hungry Jack pancake mix. I got a “Not for you!” warning that offered a number of alternatives that would meet my criteria. When I tapped the arrow next to the “Not for you!” I was taken to another page which explained why and listed all of the ingredients in the product which participated in that:
- Corn Syrup HFCS – corn syrup solids
- Gluten – enriched bleached flour, wheat flour, malted barley flour
- MSG – sodium caseinate
- Milk Protein – sodium caseinate
- GMO – this is not a verified non-GMO product
It did list that the product was both aspartame and cellulose free.
Then when I scanned another product which was not listed I was taken to a page which allowed me to “be a helper” and take three pictures to send to them of the label, the ingredients list, and the nutrition panel. This is just great. They are trying to grow their database and allowing consumers to be active participants in understanding what they are eating. While there are a lot of things in our food that I believe need to be listed in this database, this is certainly a great and very promising start.
Of course having this app doesn't mean that you don't need to read the label. I believe you still really need to know what's in your food. To be able to read the label and make educated decisions. But if you're in a hurry or are unsure about something this may just be the tool you need.
I'm hoping that as more people use this app they'll be able to add more and more of the harmful ingredients found in our food and support people in eating well to be well.
*Disclaimer: I receive no compensation from ipiit for mentioning their product, I simply think it's a great product and want more people to use it.