This is information revealed by France Inter. The manufacturer can be contacted directly by email or on X via Yuka, to give the consumer “the power to act directly”.
Published on 19/11/2024 07:35
Reading time: 2min
The Yuka application will soon allow its users to contact a manufacturer directly by email or on “Unfortunately, the public authorities are taking too long to ban substances that are controversial”justifies Julie Chapon, co-founder of Yuka. “We have to wait decades. There are also conflicts of interest. Faced with all this, the consumer also has the power to act directly,” she adds.
The Yuka application, created eight years ago, has 60 million users worldwide, including 22 million in France. 55 additives are listed there, as are sweeteners that are bad for the microbiota, emulsifiers that pose a risk to the cardiovascular system, and colorings suspected of promoting hyperactivity in children. These substances appear in red when a product containing them is scanned. With the new functionality, it will then be possible with a simple click to send an email or a message on X directly to the manufacturer to ask them to eliminate these additives.
“We should not listen to the industry's claims that we will always need certain potentially dangerous additives. This is not true”explains Olivier Andrault, specialist in food issues at theUFC-Que Choisir. “Our studies show that there is always a better choice, either from a nutritional point of view or from the point of view of the presence of additives.”
Under pressure from consumers, practices are evolving and manufacturers cannot ignore the French appetite for healthier products. Campaigns carried out in recent years have also made it possible to reduce the use of nitrites in ham and have lowered the sugar level in certain children's cereals. The national association of food industry manufacturers, Ania, has so far not wished to react.
