Trash Panda Food Scanner 4+

Great start

I like the idea behind this - to automate scanning ingredient lists and help educate me on some of the crazy things in food. But it not quite there. I am hoping they can extend this to allow modifications (I am okay with Honey!) and give an overall score to help me compare two products against each other (1 red is equivalent to how many yellows?) The heart is the in the right place, I am looking forward to the app being able to follow.

Still figuring out app

Ok so this prompt literally just appeared on my screen to rate this app. I have only been using this app for one hour. I guess I like it so far, but I don’t feel comfortable giving it a five star rating with only one hour usage since I don’t fully know the features. I will say that I haven’t understood why it rates agave nectar as potentially harmful (Is it because of where it lies highly on the glycemic index scale like sugar, or that it’s “too processed”, or both, if in excess, potentially leading to something like hypoglycemia or diabetes?). So it would be nice to know if there are links to the empirical research/reasoning behind the ingredient ratings. Anyway, a fairly good app for this first-time user who wants to make healthier choices and be aware of alternatives for better nutrition.

Developer Response ,

Hi there! Thanks so much for taking the time to leave a review. You can tap on any ingredient that's flagged in the app to read more about it and see the links to the studies we reference. For agave nectar in particular, it has a very high glycemic index which means it will spike blood sugar more easily than some other forms of sugar. If you have any other questions, please feel free to let us know at support@trashpandaapp.com. Happy scanning!

This App will not help you eat healthier

This app has two basic call outs for “bad” ingredients (1) problematic and (2) questionable. This two tier system is a little too simple for an app and has one major flaw - it identifies added sugar as questionable and not problematic. The ingredient, added sugar, that is the main driver behind the majority of chronic disease in America is “questionable” and not “problematic”?

This app leans into the obfuscation of nutrition where preservatives are more demonized than the huge amounts of sugar being added to our diets - the causality is clear. This system allows companies to sell sugar loaded products that are given a “health washing,” because they are “natural”

For example, their bbq article recommends Noble Made by the New Primal’s BBQ Sauce, which uses Pineapple Juice as a main ingredient. Pineapple Juice is mainly fructose and should be avoided in any healthy diet, as fructose is not metabolized by the body and goes right to the liver, causing fatty liver disease (among many other problems).

Nutrition science is becoming clear. This app is not.

Developer Response ,

Thank you for your feedback. We are currently working on a different way to flag added sugar. We appreciate you checking out the app and if you have any other thoughts, we would love to hear them at hello@trashpandaapp.com.