Are you habitually checking the ingredient list of packaged food at stores? Most of us look out for ingredients like oil, sugar content, flour, and other additives. However, merely reading the ingredients does not help one know whether the packet of ‘healthy digestive cookies’ suggested by the nutritionist is processed or worse, ultra-processed. Some of these ‘healthy’ packaged foods can contain hidden sugars, flavour additives and fats unsuited for consumption.
If only selecting /buying food was simpler.
The good news is, there is. TruthIn, a Hyderabad-based product intelligence app helps you stay healthy by identifying hidden harmful additives. Launched in 2023, the app is a business-to-consumer(B2C)-focused health and wellness tech platform — currently operational in India — for packaged food, personal care, and cosmetic products. It provides a reliable source for personalised information to simplify the process of making healthier choices offering transparent, detailed evaluations and personalised insights on food and cosmetic products. The TruthIn app also rates packaged products based on the ingredients and nutrition chart listed on the package.
User view of the app on phone
| Photo Credit:
Special Arrangements
Currently operational in India, the app utilises AI innovations and proprietary algorithms to feature a clear product ratings methodology based on scientific assessments, and personalised insights tailored to individual health profiles across the FMCG packaged groceries, beauty and personal care segments.
Simply put, they extract, process and link the information to the unique barcode of the packaged food. The barcode (and the nutritional information in food category) are provided to the app through vision tools/ images. After this, all the information is processed using algorithms developed by TruthIn.
Ravi Teja Putrevu, founder of TruthIn explains, “Sometimes, ingredient labels include names like INS 330, INS 171 (in chewing gum, dairy products, breads), Red 40 (added in cakes, biscuits and cosmetics, as additives or flavour enhancers) which are harmful. We developed an algorithm that identifies such ingredients. Our app employs vision models that process both text and images. The vision models are a subset of computer vision, a broader AI field that enables machines to interpret and analyse visual data. The TruthIn rating and food insights are obtained by putting this data through algorithms developed by the team, which also have a layer of AI.” As a result, once the list of ingredients is linked to the barcode, the evaluations and ratings are made available on the app, enabling buyers to and decide.
How does it work?
The TruthIn Rating System gives a clear, easy-to-understand health rating for packaged foods highlighting key nutrition and ingredient information. It also recommends healthier alternatives using data-driven insights to align with daily nutritional allowances. Tools like ‘Match Meter’ help consumers see how well a product fits into their dietary goals.
Read labels beyond expiry date
With India becoming the 3rd largest packaged food market globally, there is growing consumer demand for healthier food options and the need for clearer product information. Post-pandemic, 83% of Indian parents express a desire to improve their children’s eating habits, and 69% of consumers want to make healthier choices. However, navigating product labels and making informed decisions remains a daunting task. The ICMR NIN, while conducting a label awareness study, observed that most participants reported reading food label information, mostly for manufacturing and expiry dates.
Personal need
During the lockdown, Ravi Teja discovered that he had a medical condition called Acromegaly. While medication was part of approaching his condition, he also to alter his diet and avoid ingredients that included artificial food colours, flavours, additives, sugars and refined foods. Ravi Teja explains, “Reading food labels was one way of making the right food choices. However, labels are complicated; a layman cannot understand easily. That was when the idea of TruthIn was conceptualised. When Ravi along with the co-founders Dr Aman Basheer Sheikh and Raghav Putrevu got together to develop TruthIn, they thought they could access a centralised database of packaged food products to incorporate into TruthIn. Ravi adds, “This is the method that international competitors such as Yuka (available in the United States of America, France, Germany, and Ireland (most EU Countries) have. The UK Government, as part of its public health initiatives, also launched a New Better Health campaign for children during the pandemic, with an NHS Food Scanner App for parents to use.
Back in India, developing a similar app was much more challenging. Initially, the team envisioned scraping data from existing databases but soon discovered a lack of centralised repositories that contained all the product information.”
User view of the app on phone
| Photo Credit:
Special Arrangements
How does one use it
After downloading the app and creating the profile with the health goal,one needs to scan the bar code. Upon scanning, depending on whether it is processed or ultra-processed it rates the food on a scale of 1-5, provided the bar code of the food you are scanning is already mapped into the Truthin system. If it is not, you can proceed to upload an image of the ingredient list and nutrition chart and TruthIn will process the information and upload it, but not instantly. The app has different categories like Food under which there are sub categories like cakes and bakes, biscuits, breakfast and spreads etc. These sub categories lists some packaged food brands and ingredients. Beauty is another category under which there are sub categories like body care, skin care, oral care etc. These sub categories lists different brands of lotions, shampoos, etc.
A drop down menu below the ranking system allows the user to know more about the product.
(TruthIn haven’t mapped all products yet, they are inviting users to upload images of ingredient list and nutritional chart of foods and barcode of packaged foods they regularly use.)
Published – December 03, 2024 02:21 pm IST