Read Mumsnetters’ feedback on the new Change4Life food scanner app

[JustineBMumsnet]

This is the feedback thread for the MNers who have been testing the Change4Life food scanner app.

Here’s what PHE has to say: “Without realising it we’re all eating too much sugar, saturated fat and salt. The new and improved ‘Food Scanner’ app is here to help you and your family make healthier food and drink choices. Simply scan the barcode of your food and drink to reveal what’s inside.”

Testers, please answer the below questions.

1. Do you think the Food Scanner app helped you to make healthier food and drink choices?
2. What did you and your family enjoy about using the Food Scanner app?
3. Do you think that you will continue to use the Food Scanner app?
4. Can you tell us about a time - if any - you changed your purchase choice as a result of the app?
5. We’d love to hear about any features you think could further improve the Food Scanner app?

All testers who give their feedback will be sent a £5 Amazon voucher.

Thanks and good luck!

MNHQ

Standard Insight T&Cs apply

1. Do you think the Food Scanner app helped you to make healthier food and drink choices?

Possibly. Having facts in your face does help you make a better choice

1. What did you and your family enjoy about using the Food Scanner app?

Our 4 year old twins enjoyed the novelty. I enjoyed checking the accuracy compared to what was on the packaging and also against sites like my fitness pal

1. Do you think that you will continue to use the Food Scanner app?

Yes, providing more foods are added

1. Can you tell us about a time - if any - you changed your purchase choice as a result of the app?

Ive stopped purchasing fromage frais toddler yoghurts and gone back to Greek yoghurt and fruit for them

1. We’d love to hear about any features you think could further improve the Food Scanner app?

Just keep it updated and expanding the products in the database

1. Do you think the Food Scanner app helped you to make healthier food and drink choices?

No I don’t. The traffic light system is there on a lot of packaging already. If I’m going to choose a chocolate bar I already know it’s a bad choice!

1. What did you and your family enjoy about using the Food Scanner app?

My daughter liked to pretend she was doing the shopping and scanning all the things in our cupboards.

1. Do you think that you will continue to use the Food Scanner app?

I think my daughter will!

1. Can you tell us about a time - if any - you changed your purchase choice as a result of the app?

Has not happened.

1. We’d love to hear about any features you think could further improve the Food Scanner app?

Widen the products in the database. A lot of our items are from Aldi and around 50% of those we tried didn’t scan.

1. Do you think the Food Scanner app helped you to make healthier food and drink choices?

it certainly made me think anout what i was buying and what we were consuming

1. What did you and your family enjoy about using the Food Scanner app?

it was a great app my children enjoyed scanning items and seeing their sugar value etc shown in cubes.

1. Do you think that you will continue to use the Food Scanner app?

yes!

1. Can you tell us about a time - if any - you changed your purchase choice as a result of the app?

i stopped buying noodles as it contained 7 sachets of salt!!!!! wahhhhh!

1. We’d love to hear about any features you think could further improve the Food Scanner app?

it would be great to show an alternative product when a high sugar/salt/fat product is scanned

1. Do you think the Food Scanner app helped you to make healthier food and drink choices?

Yes we scanned some snacks in the supermarket and chose healthier snacks.

1. What did you and your family enjoy about using the Food Scanner app?

It was easy to use and interesting to see the results of the scans. My son also enjoyed testing the app to see if it would scan cat food!

1. Do you think that you will continue to use the Food Scanner app?

Yes its easy to use and very helpful

1. Can you tell us about a time - if any - you changed your purchase choice as a result of the app?

We changed a few of our son's snacks to different brands that had less sugar in.

1. We’d love to hear about any features you think could further improve the Food Scanner app?

More products in the database

1. Do you think the Food Scanner app helped you to make healthier food and drink choices?

It helps me and my kids to understand the differences between good and bad food choices. This app helps to me to persuade my kids to choose healthier snacks.

1. What did you and your family enjoy about using the Food Scanner app?

It is very transparent and easy to understand even for kids.

1. Do you think that you will continue to use the Food Scanner app?

Definitely and even my kids have it on their phones.

1. Can you tell us about a time - if any - you changed your purchase choice as a result of the app?

Big supermarket shopping on Saturday. We bought more fruit instead of sharing bags of chocolate.

1. We’d love to hear about any features you think could further improve the Food Scanner app?

More products, especially mini bars of chocolate are unrecognisable.

Second set of questions

1. Do you think the Food Scanner app helped you to make healthier food and drink choices?

While browsing through the shops, yes.

1. What did you and your family enjoy about using the Food Scanner app?

My daughter enjoyed helping t scan the items and it made it fun for her

1. Do you think that you will continue to use the Food Scanner app?

Yes definitely

1. Can you tell us about a time - if any - you changed your purchase choice as a result of the app?

I haven’t yet, but I also haven’t done a big shop yet. I’m sure this will happen though.

1. We’d love to hear about any features you think could further improve the Food Scanner app?

Adding more information. I will be great when it’s been fully developed and has more items added to it (a couple I tried to scan didn’t come up)

1. Do you think the Food Scanner app helped you to make healthier food and drink choices?

It helped my children stop making so many bad choices.

1. What did you and your family enjoy about using the Food Scanner app?

It was very easy, with clear results.

1. Do you think that you will continue to use the Food Scanner app?

Possibly, if there are new products to check.

1. Can you tell us about a time - if any - you changed your purchase choice as a result of the app?

N/A

1. We’d love to hear about any features you think could further improve the Food Scanner app?

Suggestions for a better choice e.g. 'swap to x brand for a healthier option'.

1. Do you think the Food Scanner app helped you to make healthier food and drink choices? Hmm I am not sure because we started by scanning food we already had in the house - it did certainly make me think whilst out shopping though

1. What did you and your family enjoy about using the Food Scanner app? It was easy - my DD 5 could do it

1. Do you think that you will continue to use the Food Scanner app? Yes as long as it is free I will

1. Can you tell us about a time - if any - you changed your purchase choice as a result of the app? No changes but have decided not to buy certain yogurts anymore

1. We’d love to hear about any features you think could further improve the Food Scanner app? It needs more products loaded and also what would be nice is if you could enter the nutritional values of stuff and it worked out if it was healthy or not

1. I don't exactly monitor their sugar intake but I am aware of what snacks they are having and will limit biscuits, chocolates etc

1. I don't know much to be honest, but I have a good idea of what is healthy and unhealthy and go according to that.

1. It has helped me to educate my children regarding sugar content and they are more aware of what they are eating.

4 + 5. I was actually shocked at how much sugar there actually is, even in such a small snack item or something plain and boring like Cheerios and also how much salt was in a cheese string but then i do believe in having everything in moderation. I can see how it may be very easy to get caught up into limiting what a person eats .
Nevertheless, the app is very visual and the children are enjoying it whilst being more aware of whats in their food.

1. If you usually manage or monitor your family’s intake of sugar, how do you do this?

I make homemade snacks that way I'm in control of the amount of sugar and fat

1. How much would you say that you know about the sugar content in foods generally?

I would say I'm quite knowledgeable and aware

1. Do you think the Change4Life app has helped you to understand the sugar content in your foods?

yes a little, more for the kids to help understand

1. What have you learned while testing the app?

that the same kind of product such as Nutella and brand chocolate spread vastly differ in sugar/fat contents

1. When testing the app, was there anything that shocked you?

not really shocked as I'm already quite aware. its interesting comparing similar products.

Do you think the Food Scanner app helped you to make healthier food and drink choices?

Not really as I have a good idea already.

1. What did you and your family enjoy about using the Food Scanner app?

Nothing really - I think maybe young children would be more interested but mine are teenagers.

1. Do you think that you will continue to use the Food Scanner app?

No.

1. Can you tell us about a time - if any - you changed your purchase choice as a result of the app?

None.

1. We’d love to hear about any features you think could further improve the Food Scanner app?

It would be useful if it provided information that wasn't already on the pack, for example bread from the bakery counter in a supermarket which has a bar code but no nutritional information.

Answering the 2nd set of questions:

1. Do you think the Food Scanner app helped you to make healthier food and drink choices?

I would say out choices were already rather healthy, but it has certainly helped my kids better understand the reason we make the choices we do .

1. What did you and your family enjoy about using the Food Scanner app?

I like the visual apect, easy for kids to get involved.

1. Do you think that you will continue to use the Food Scanner app?

Sure.

1. Can you tell us about a time - if any - you changed your purchase choice as a result of the app?

I have nit yet changed any snack as a result of using the ap.

1. We’d love to hear about any features you think could further improve the Food Scanner app?

More barcode added. Some stuff I scanned wasn't on the database

1. Do you think the Food Scanner app helped you to make healthier food and drink choices?

Not really, it was used more as a point of interest to see what the things we were eating and drinking contained.

1. What did you and your family enjoy about using the Food Scanner app?

They found it interesting and enjoyed the animations but it was confusing when the results were based on a whole pack of something.

1. Do you think that you will continue to use the Food Scanner app?

Not really to be honest, i only found one item which it pegged as a good choice! perhaps if the kids were younger we would use it more.

1. Can you tell us about a time - if any - you changed your purchase choice as a result of the app?

I didnt change my purchase choices as i scanned things at home, it made me think more especially about drinks.

1. We’d love to hear about any features you think could further improve the Food Scanner app?

There were some items that werent available, and i felt that there wasnt many suggestions

1. Do you think the Food Scanner app helped you to make healthier food and drink choices?

Sort of when it recognised the items!

1. What did you and your family enjoy about using the Food Scanner app?

Interesting to see how our usual food rated.

1. Do you think that you will continue to use the Food Scanner app?

Maybe

1. Can you tell us about a time - if any - you changed your purchase choice as a result of the app?

It made me think more about saturated fat as I hadn't really thought about that too much before.

1. We’d love to hear about any features you think could further improve the Food Scanner app? Maybe a suggestion of a healthier alternative.

1. Do you think the Food Scanner app helped you to make healthier food and drink choices?

It IS motivating to see how many lumps of sugar there are in favourite snacks or foods. It makes you not want to eat them. However, I don't think the alternatives offered are terribly healthy - it is well known that artificial sweeteners can actually be worse for you than natural sugars. White bread is recommended as a healthy snack in the app, but it has been stripped of the nutritious wheatgerm and wholegrain? Also white bread is high carb which really means high sugar? The alternatives don't necessarily take into account and distinguish the nutritional value of foods in terms of vitamins, minerals, good fats (eg from an avocado) and bad fats (eg. trans fats), preservatives etc.

1. What did you and your family enjoy about using the Food Scanner app?

It is really fun scanning and finding out information about foods, that you never knew!

1. Do you think that you will continue to use the Food Scanner app?

Yes. It is motivating as it puts you off unhealthy food, but I wouldn't take up the "healthy" food alternatives suggested.

1. Can you tell us about a time - if any - you changed your purchase choice as a result of the app?

Not yet. But I may in future.

1. We’d love to hear about any features you think could further improve the Food Scanner app?

Some things are not very clear. For eg, the number of sugar cubes per pack for Belvita is listed as 16.3. However it is not stated if this means per individual pack or the entire box of 5 packs.

So units of measurement - eg, per slice, per 100g etc, need to be clearer.

A few products I tried scanning were simply not available. So there needs to be more items in the database.

Answering the second set of questions

1. Do you think the Food Scanner app helped you to make healthier food and drink choices?

It helped my daughter realise why i wouldnt buy certain foods for her because of the sugar content!

1. What did you and your family enjoy about using the Food Scanner app?

My daughter loved taking part and scanning our food!

1. Do you think that you will continue to use the Food Scanner app?

yes i will

1. Can you tell us about a time - if any - you changed your purchase choice as a result of the app?

yes we changed yoghurts we normally buy based on the sugar in them.

1. We’d love to hear about any features you think could further improve the Food Scanner app

more food on database and healthier suggestions.

1. Do you think the Food Scanner app helped you to make healthier food and drink choices?

No, it didn't really tell me anything that I didn't already know.

1. What did you and your family enjoy about using the Food Scanner app?

Not much to be honest, it's not for us.

1. Do you think that you will continue to use the Food Scanner app?

Definitely not

1. Can you tell us about a time - if any - you changed your purchase choice as a result of the app?

Not applicable.

1. We’d love to hear about any features you think could further improve the Food Scanner app?

Most things I scanned were not on the system. We only really buy own brand and it just wouldn't work. It made me feel quite guilty about my use of butter and I felt the guidance it was giving about healthy fats was outdated.

1. Do you think the Food Scanner app helped you to make healthier food and drink choices? Yes as with some its didnt realise how much fat was in them.
2. What did you and your family enjoy about using the Food Scanner app? Kids enjoyed seeing cubes stack and choosing alternatives.
3. Do you think that you will continue to use the Food Scanner app? Sometimes
4. Can you tell us about a time - if any - you changed your purchase choice as a result of the app? Lower fat mayo
5. We’d love to hear about any features you think could further improve the Food Scanner app? Healthier alternatives as choices it gives could be lower in fat but higher sugars

1. If you usually manage or monitor your family’s intake of sugar, how do you do this?

I don’t usually monitor it.

1. How much would you say that you know about the sugar content in foods generally?

Not much

1. Do you think the Change4Life app has helped you to understand the sugar content in your foods?

Yes

1. What have you learned while testing the app?

Some foods have less sugar but make up in fats so not as good for you.

1. When testing the app, was there anything that shocked you?

Amount of fat and sugars in some items

1. Do you think the Food Scanner app helped you to make healthier food and drink choices?

Yes, as it told me clearly what contained a great deal of sugar and sat. fat.

1. What did you and your family enjoy about using the Food Scanner app?

My daughter loved using the food scanner, was trying to scan every item in,

1. Do you think that you will continue to use the Food Scanner app?

If it is free, then I probably will. I won't be the type that takes it with me shopping though.

1. Can you tell us about a time - if any - you changed your purchase choice as a result of the app?

No, it didn't. It will in the future make me think.

1. We’d love to hear about any features you think could further improve the Food Scanner app?

It took a little while to scan things in could they make it quicker.

1 usually use my own knowledge,2 usually i am quite good at sugar content but some things shocked me things that i thought were healthy.3 taught me about salt and sugar content quite good app,4 learnt about hidden sugars and salt surprised me how bad some items were .5 low fat yogurts surprised me how much sugar were in them .6 easy to use a great app

1. Yes
2. Enjoy seeing visually how many sugar cubes were in our food. This is a great tool for children.
3. Yes
4. No
5. I love it as it is. A one with lumps of fat would be great (I think!!!)

1. Do you think the Food Scanner app helped you to make healthier food and drink choices?

It helped my DC make healthier choices - converting the sugar content of snacks they like into a visual picture of how much sugar did make them take notice! At the least for now it is making them more thoughtful about what they’re eating.

2. What did you and your family enjoy about using the Food Scanner app?

When I first downloaded it my DC loved fetching anything and everything to scan - they really enjoyed the interactive aspect of it. I was really quite surprised that it worked on seasonal random things like shop own brand Christmas novelty Reindeers

3. Do you think that you will continue to use the Food Scanner app?

I downloaded it onto my iPad so ideally yes I’d like to continue using it as an aid for my dc when out shopping but I’d have to download it onto my phone as well to be handy.

4. Can you tell us about a time - if any - you changed your purchase choice as a result of the app?

Again we didn’t use the app outside of the house so no we haven’t used it to make a purchase change although my DC did swap a biscuit once for an apple as a result of using the app.

5. We’d love to hear about any features you think could further improve the Food Scanner app?

I don’t think my DC have really ever seen a sugar lump before so although I told them roughly how big they are, for us the measurements given/shown using table spoons of sugar woke more helpful/readier for them to relate to.

I left feedback initially and then some questions have been amended I have some more answers

1. I haven’t changed any purchase decisions due to the app

1. Could be good to include other things such as fat content etc

1. Do you think the Food Scanner app helped you to make healthier food and drink choices?

Yes, it made me think twice about certain snacks.

1. What did you and your family enjoy about using the Food Scanner app?

Scanning the snacks and doing comparisons.

1. Do you think that you will continue to use the Food Scanner app?

Yes

1. Can you tell us about a time - if any - you changed your purchase choice as a result of the app?

Avoided too many sugary snacks

1. We’d love to hear about any features you think could further improve the Food Scanner app?

I think it needs to remain free for it to be effective