Our Favourite Food Apps

There are hundreds of thousands of mobile apps out there which can do almost anything: last weekend I was in need of a tape measure whilst out shopping. Who’d have thought there was an app for this?! It is of no surprise that amongst this plethora of applications, there are some food apps that are incredibly useful. Here are a few we’ve come across:

1. What to eat: Fooducate (Available on Android and iOS. Free) allows you can scan the barcode of a food item in store, and get quick, straightforward information about what you are about to buy before you put it in your cart. Over 200,000 products are covered by the app, so you’re bound to find the information you need. Each product that is in the Fooducate database has community feedback, is assigned a letter grade with explanation, has nutritional information, and has suggestions for healthier alternatives. You can also link to your Facebook account to share product info with your friends! Fooducate is a great resource to have at your fingertips if you’re trying to create a healthier lifestyle, or if you want to know more about what you’re putting in your pantry.
2. What not to eat: Food and Drug Administration recalls app (available on Android. Free). This app provides updates of the latest US food recalls, so you can be sure what’s in your fridge is safe to eat.
3. Where to eat: Food Standards Agency food hygiene ratings (available on iPhone, Android and Windows. Free). Working in the food industry makes us all too aware of what can make us ill when it comes to food preparation and this can make us extremely finicky when it comes to eating out. This app by the UK’s FSA is great for guidance on where we should, or shouldn’t, eat by giving you the latest hygiene ratings. Looks like I won’t be ordering from my nearest takeout any time soon…
4. How to order: hungryhouse (available on iPhone. Free (UK coverage only)). Once you’ve found a hygienic take-away, you can now use an app to order. Hungryhouse is incredibly easy to use; you can view menus and order at the click of a button. Using your postcode or GPS position, the app gives you a list of eateries close by. GrubHub (available on Android and iOS.  Free) is a US counterpart to the UK’s hungryhouse – helping you place a delivery or carry out order for your favorite food. With coverage of more than 20,000 restaurants in over 500 cities in the US, you’re bound to find what you crave…
5. 

   HarvestMark screenshots

   Source your food: Traceability apps – such as HarvestMark (available on iPhone and Android. Free). These traceability apps are made by food producers which are becoming very popular with consumers. The example given is HarvestMark, which allows consumers to trace where their food has been from farm-to-fork, and if the product has been recalled, by simply entering a code on the food packaging. With the recent horsemeat-burger scandal headline news in the UK and Europe, apps like these are likely to become more sought after.
6. Keep up to date: Food Safety Magazine (Available on Android and iOS. Free). This app brings the latest news in the food safety industry to your fingertips. Covering topics from emerging consumer risks to the impact of food safety on businesses, Food Safety Magazine provides information useful to consumers and food safety professionals alike. And they’ve been doing it since 1995!

This article was written by Naomi Osborne (UK) and Craig Manthe (US). Do you use any of these apps? As food specialists, as well as consumers, are there any others you find particularly useful? Do let us know!