The ratings for our meals on Yuka vary depending on the recipes. This is due to the analysis algorithms which in certain cases render more or less relevant conclusions. You should never forget to keep a critical mind when dealing with nutritional rating applications.
Additives.
The additives we use are in minimal quantities in our products and are not harmful to your health! Often confused with additives, these are the essential vitamins and minerals present in our ingredient lists that wrongly pull the ratings down. Our vitamin mix provides you with approximately a quarter of your daily needs per meal (depending on the recipes), so there is no risk of overconsumption. Yuka's policy is to “rate red” as a precaution most additives, that is to say to classify them in the “harmful” category. This goes in the opposite direction of regular and balanced consumption of vitamins and minerals.
Calories.
It is sometimes stated that our products are “too” high in calories. A complete meal of 400 kcal or 500 kcal is not, however, a meal with too many calories, because it only represents 20 to 25% of the average daily requirement (2000kcal/day). Remember that we offer complete meals and not just single foods. Yuka and other applications of this type focus on evaluating the nutritional relevance of a simple component of your diet; they are not equipped to evaluate all categories of products. This is also why food supplements, sports proteins and even infant nutrition milks are not listed on Yuka. If they were, they would also benefit from very bad grades. Faced with this inability to objectively rate these product categories, Yuka chose to remove them from its repertoire.
The same should be true with complete meals which are by definition rich in macronutrients. If Yuka could scan all the foods in a typical meal at once, it seems obvious that the number of calories would be high.
Sugar.
The sugar in our bars comes from fruit, chocolate and agave syrup. This unrefined syrup has a low glycemic index and is naturally rich in minerals such as iron, calcium, potassium and magnesium. At first glance, even 25 g of sugars in our Original meal bars may seem like a lot, but for comparison, a plate of raw vegetables, a dish of rice and a piece of fruit provides much more than 25 g of sugars per meal. Additionally, Feed. offers complete meals very rich in fiber, proteins and essential fatty acids which will slow down the absorption of the sugars present. The final glycemic index is therefore very low! This is also the case for our snacks, our raw bars whose sugar level is criticized on yuka, even though it comes exclusively from fruits (dates, plums, cherries, bananas, etc.). However, dates or bananas taken alone are rated “very good” by the application, because they are a fruit. The fruit is therefore popular with Yuka, but very poorly rated if it is an ingredient. However, the health benefits are the same! There is half as much sugar in our raw bars as in fruit, but also twice as much fiber and 5 times more protein! A super fruit rich in vitamins and minerals! Ideal for any time of day, but does not fit into Yuka's rating codes.
The amount.
Yuka does not take into account the notion of quantity and portion. The nutritional values evaluated are always taken per 100 grams of product. Our snacks are only 40 grams. The values used for their ratings are therefore twice as high as in reality, which seriously hampers realistic and objective judgment. For example, 100g of pizza is compared to 100g of chips while a portion of pizza is 300g versus 30g for a portion of chips. It's a shame !
Gluten, lactose and other allergens.
Yuka does not take into account the efforts made to offer products with ultra-demanding specifications, balanced, vegan, gluten-free, lactose-free, made in France, nor the industrial constraints that this implies. Gluten-free mixing and manufacturing, for example, are much more complicated and sometimes require the use of specific ingredients which can alter the final note. The application allows itself to suggest products, certainly better rated, but which contain a lot of gluten or other allergens. This choice aid is extremely dangerous for the health of an intolerant or allergic consumer.
Balance and diversity.
Yuka also does not take into account the major fundamentals of food which are balance and diversity. An apple will be noted as “green” on Yuka, but no other information will be transmitted. However, if you only eat apples, you will quickly be deficient in certain nutrients such as proteins, essential fatty acids, minerals. Generally speaking, encouraging consumers to opt only for foods rated “green” without providing the notions of nutritional balance and diversity is very dangerous and leads to eating behaviors that are often very nutrient deficient. It is essential to maintain a critical mind with this type of application and not to forget that a balanced diet is essential, well before the simple rating of a product taken out of its nutritional context. Be sure ! All our meals and snacks are balanced!
In summary.
Be sure ! We have confidence in our products. So you too.
