Below is a few important information to understand the goal and functioning of this initiative.
1. Yuka’s objective and role
If you scan a product containing an additive that Yuka evaluates as “high risk” for health, you will have the opportunity to call out the brand that makes this product and ask them to remove the additive (hereafter “the Call-Out”).
Yuka's mission is to help consumers make healthier choices, as well as to empower them to drive the food industry to improve their products. The Call-Out feature fully aligns with this mission by empowering consumers and fostering a constructive dialogue with brands.
If you share Yuka’s opinion and want to Call-out the brand, this feature enables you to do so by sending a pre-drafted message from Yuka, requesting the removal of the additive to protect consumer health.
Yuka will inform you of the outcome and in particular if the brand decides to remove high Risk additives from its product following your Call-out.
2. Additives subject to the Call-out
2.1. Yuka invites you to Call-out the brands that use one or several additives evaluated as “high risk” by Yuka in their products.
Please note that you cannot Call-out brands for all additives currently evaluated as high risk by Yuka.
The additives for which you can Call-out brands are part of additive families that are present in a very large number of products in the Yuka database. The widespread use of these additives is therefore particularly concerning for consumer health.
As of November 18, 2024, the day the feature was launched, this concerns 81 additives. Other high risk additives may be added to the list of those for which Call-out is possible, which will be updated as necessary.
2.2. The designation "high risk" assigned to the concerned additives represents an opinion of Yuka, based on the analysis of the current state of scientific knowledge.
According to the scientific studies analyzed by Yuka, the additives evaluated as "high risk" by Yuka are suspected of increasing the likelihood of serious illnesses such as cancers, cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, disrupting reproduction, or causing behavioral disorders. These risks have been reviewed and updated by two of Yuka’s Scientific Consultants (one Toxicologist and one Nutritionist). The scientific sources they considered are explained here.
Although these substances may be present in food at levels that comply with current regulations and are therefore considered safe by health authorities, Yuka's role is to alert consumers to potential health risks, even if they are still under suspicion.
Studies suggest that the cocktail effect – meaning the interaction between multiple additives, even at low doses – could lead to harmful health effects. Furthermore, the recurrent consumption of certain additives may result in exceeding acceptable daily intake levels (ADIs), particularly among vulnerable populations such as children. Lastly, science is constantly evolving, and the most recent data is not always considered when establishing these ADIs.
In accordance with the precautionary principle, Yuka believes that manufacturers should remove these additives from their products to limit consumer exposure. Even though most manufacturers use additives for legitimate reasons (to extend product shelf life, improve texture, or stabilize properties), it is essential to eliminate them whenever possible.
3. Products subject to the Call-out
Yuka invites you to Call-out a brand and request that they remove the high risk additive from the product you have scanned.
However, this does not mean that all products from this brand contain additives evaluated as high risk by Yuka; some manufacturers use High Risk additives in some products but not in others.
4. Brands subject to the Call-out
Yuka invites you to Call-out one of the 3,100 brands whose products contain at least one of the additive subject to the Call-Out and that are the most scanned in the app (as of July 1, 2024).
The brands subject to Call-Out may change over time. Brands that are initially called out will no longer be eligible if they remove the high risk additives from their products.
Conversely, other brands may later be called out if they are among the most scanned and their products contain additives subject to the Call-Out.
5. Sending a Pre-Drafted Message via Email or Posting on X
Yuka offers you the option to Call-Out the brand either via email or on X by sending them a message pre-drafted by Yuka.
When you click on the "By email" button, your default email application will open with an email pre-drafted by Yuka. The brand's email address is already filled in, and Yuka is also blind copied on the email for tracking of the counter point (see below point 6). The pre-drafted email is available only in French and English.
If the X application is installed on your phone and Yuka has been able to identify an X account for the concerned brand, you can also click on the "On X" button; the X application will open with a tweet pre-drafted by Yuka, tagging the brand's X account. The pre-drafted tweet is available in French, English, Spanish, Italian, and German.
Regardless of the chosen method, we ask you to comply with the Call-Out User Policy.
The brands called-out, on their part, can respond directly through the chosen channel.
6. Functioning and goal of the counter
As indicated by the small ℹ️ next to the number displayed on the counter, it represents the total number of consumers who have called out the brand on one of its products, via email and on X. Therefore, the counter does not reflect the number of consumers who have called out the brand for the scanned product only.
Additionally, if you Call-Out the same brand for another product, this will not increase the number displayed on the counter, as the counter tracks the total number of consumers who have called out the brand.
For the same reason, if you Call-Out the brand both by email and on X, this will not increase the number displayed on the counter either.
The initial target is 100 Call-outs, but the counter will only be displayed once 10 Call-outs have been reached. Once the initial target is met, it will automatically move to the next threshold (200), and so on (500, 1000, 2000, 5000, 10,000, 20,000, 50,000, 100,000, etc.). The goal is to encourage as many users as possible to Call-out the brand, in order to influence its decisions regarding the composition of its products.
