Food Additives
Posted 01/01/2009 at 2:30am
| by Carol Pinchefsky

The EU and Australia do not approve this message.
If you had a fast-food donut for breakfast, and millions have, you may not realize that nestled within the warm, rich taste of donut-y goodness are flour, oil, sugar… and propylene glycol. Propy-huh? With Food Additives, you can translate what that means to in plain English. And the results aren't pleasant. Food Additives says this additive isn't approved for consumption in the European Union and Australia. A synthetic product based on oil--crude, not olive--propylene glycol can cause eczema in high concentrations.
Do you really need this information before you've had your coffee? For people with sensitivities and other restrictions--celiac disease, a kosher or vegan diet--the answer is absolutely, positively yes.
Food Additives is an informative app that breaks over 450 food additives down into categories, such as number code, name, risk level, and whether it's derived from animals and insects. The app also lists symptoms that these additives cause, such as migraines and, eek, potential genetic mutations.

With enough erythrosine, I shall become Queen of the Mutants!
For some, Additives is essential. But is it accurate? The data comes from multiple, public sources according to the developer, such as the Food and Drug Administration and the European Commission. Although these sources are official, they're also conflicting; what's considered safe in Australia might not be safe in America and vice versa. So even with the app, you still have to determine which ingredient makes you reshelf those crackers.
Also, the caveats are a little too heavy-handed. Now that we've been warned against a potential asthmatic reaction from Aspertame, diet Snapple won't ever taste the same again.
People with allergies or on a specialized diet would find this an essential app. But with contradictions from multiple (and un-cited) sources, you could find yourself walking away from perfectly safe food.
Food Additives 1.5.1
COMPANY: Web Artisan
CONTACT: www.webartisan.com.au
PRICE: $3.99
REQUIREMENTS: iPhone or iPod touch with 2.0 software update.

Takes complicated information and makes it easy to understand. Great use of categories.

Scary since warnings lack perspective. Sources not cited or linked.