CA Update - Adele Zagofsky

After retiring from a career in computer software design and support, Adele relocated to California to be near her children and grandchildren. She now enjoys gardening, creating art, researching nutrition and food, and playing pickleball.

Yuka

The last thing I wanted was to install another app, but my daughter Tara insisted—and I’m glad she did.

Since downloading Yuka, I’ve tossed partially used products, spent money replacing them, and now scan almost everything in the supermarket, much to Al’s distress. After scanning, I often decide not to buy an item at all. I’ve also shared the app with many friends.

Yuka is a free app created by three founders in France, and its carrot icon has earned it the nickname “the carrot app.” It allows users to scan beauty, health, and food products and rates them from Bad to Excellent.

For beauty and health items, ratings are based on ingredients, each labeled by risk level and explained in clear, user-friendly terms. For those who want more detail, the app provides additional information and links to scientific studies. When I scanned my toothpaste, it was rated Bad, so I replaced it with one rated Excellent—and even Al is enjoying the new toothpaste. I may not feel the effects at my age, but why not choose and support better options? I’m also enjoying my new face cream and body lotions.

Food ratings are a bit more complex. Yuka evaluates products based on additives as well as saturated fat, sugar, sodium, and calorie content. When additives are present, each one is rated as high, moderate, low, or no risk, with explanations provided for any concerning ingredients. If a product has no additives, its score reflects only its nutritional values. Yuka also highlights positive attributes such as fiber content, low sugar, protein, or low sodium.

While Yuka is free to download and use, it accepts no money from businesses and is funded entirely by its users. I chose to join for just $12 a year, considering how helpful it has been and how much I enjoy using it. So go ahead—give it a try!

~ Adele Zagofsky