Is the Yuka app accurate? What food scanner scores can and can't tell you

'Is Yuka accurate?' is really a question about every food scanner app. They compress a nutrition panel and an ingredient list into a single score, and any compression loses something. Knowing what's lost makes the score more useful, not less.

What a score does well

• It makes comparisons fast. Two cereals, two yogurts, two shampoos — you can see which one is stronger in seconds.
• It surfaces details you might skip, like a high salt level or an additive you'd rather avoid.
• It nudges habits. Small swaps, repeated weekly, add up.

What a score can't capture

• Your whole diet. A score rates one product, not how often or how much of it you eat.
• Portion size. Nutri-Score works per 100 g, so a food eaten in small amounts — like olive oil, nuts or cheese — can look worse than its real role in a meal.
• Scientific nuance on additives. Regulators approve additives at set levels, while some studies raise concerns; every app has to make judgment calls about how to weigh that evidence.
• Health benefit from organic. The organic share of the score reflects how ingredients were farmed, not their nutrition.
• Perfect data. Product databases are crowdsourced or compiled, and recipes change. An entry can be out of date.

How to use any scanner app well

1. Read the reasons under the score, not just the color.
2. Compare products within the same category — a cookie with a cookie, not a cookie with an apple.
3. Use the score for everyday choices; don't let one red result spoil a food you enjoy now and then.
4. Check the package itself for allergies and anything medical.
5. If tracking food makes you anxious, give yourself permission to skip it.

Where Novaz stands

The same limits apply to Novaz. What we can do is be open about them: the method is published, a product isn't scored when its data isn't good enough, and no brand can pay to change a score. The score is information for everyday shopping — never medical advice.