Respect for your privacy is our priority

The cookie is a small information file stored in your browser each time you visit our web page.

Cookies are useful because they record the history of your activity on our web page. Thus, when you return to the page, it identifies you and configures its content based on your browsing habits, your identity and your preferences.

You may accept cookies or refuse, block or delete cookies, at your convenience. To do this, you can choose from one of the options available on this window or even and if necessary, by configuring your browser.

If you refuse cookies, we can not guarantee the proper functioning of the various features of our web page.

For more information, please read the COOKIES INFORMATION section on our web page.

Refuse

News

Setai: New app combines CO2 footprint with health score

10/11/2021 - François-Xavier Branthôme

Several smartphone applications have emerged in recent months, which strive to inform consumers about the different quality aspects of the food products they buy.

A new smartphone app developed in Italy is assessing the nutritional profile of products, while also calculating their CO2 emissions, to help shoppers make better food and drink choices in-store.

It is estimated that the agri-food sector is responsible for more than one-third of global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. At the same time, a growing number of consumers are seeking out more sustainable food and beverage products in-store. In the UK, however, a majority (65%) say they lack the information required to make sustainable decisions in their daily lives.

Smartphone app Setai is on a mission to change the dialogue, 'For the first time ever', consumers can scan the barcode of food products to know their climate impact, as well as the impact food and beverage products have on their health.
The app also keeps track of consumers' weekly, monthly, and yearly scores to monitor their progress.

How does Setai work?
To determine the carbon emissions of food in shoppers' baskets, Setai has partnered with Italian environmental consulting and engineering firm eAmbiente, which is specializing in carbon footprint and life cycle assessment (ISA).

Setai has created a database of Carbon Emission Categories, which it developed using data from around 2,000 academic papers. Food categories could include Apple or Seafood, for example,
Once an estimation of the average CO2 emissions is assigned to the category, the app determines the appropriate sub-category, for example Royal Gala Apple, or Mussels.
"Soon, we will be able to adjust the CO2 score based on the country of origin, packaging, and production method," noted the start-up. "We are already providing publicly the most precise and robust estimation of food products' emissions for free, for the planet."
Setai's score rewards organic products, which on average promote a greater level of animal welfare compared to non-organic meat and derivatives, Setai co-founder Edoardo Danieli explained. "However, we are aware that “organic” is not synonymous with “animal wellbeing”, and intend to take further steps to promote product mindful of animal welfare as our app develops."
UK company Ecologi, which promotes green projects around the world, has also partnered with Setai. The more products consumers scan, the more trees Ecologi will plant on Setai's behalf.

Nutri-Score x Nova
Setai also provides a health score, which is based on both the Nutri-Score and Nova system. An extra point is also assigned to organic products.
Developed in France, Nutri-Score is based on a scientific algorithm that takes into account the amount of nutrients, such as fat and sugars, per 100g of product.
According to Danieli, Nutri-Score alone is not enough to assess the quality of nutrients, even though it is a “great tool” to evaluate their quantity and concentration in food products,
"For example, a zero-sugar highly processed drink scores better than a freshly squeezed orange juice, according to the Nutri-Score," the co-founder told this publication. "For this reason, the Setai score doesn't rely solely on Nutri-Score."

Setai also takes the Nova Classification System into account. Nova classifies food products into four categories based on their level of industrial processing (unprocessed or minimally processed foods; processed culinary ingredients; processed foods; and ultra-processed foods). "In addition, our score boosts organic foods, which are grown without synthetic chemicals and do not contain genetically modified organisms," Danieli continued.

Standing out from the crowd
Setai, which was developed in Italy but which is currently available in the UK, is not the first eco-label to focus on human and/or planetary health.
French start-up Siga, for example, has developed a scheme that ranks food according to its degree of processing. The Yuka app similarly scans barcodes, to help consumers understand whether a product may have a negative impact on their health.
This year has seen a proliferation of front-of-pack environmental labels enter the food space, including Planet-Score, which factors in pesticides, biodiversity, and animal welfare into its rating. Eco-Score measures the environmental impact of food products, and Foundation Earth has developed traffic-light style environmental scores that are being tested by the likes of Nestle and Tyson Foods.

Given the increasing number of nutrition- and eco-labels entering the market, FoodNavigator asked Setai how it is setting itself apart.
“The aim of the Setai score is to be reliable and simple to understand. These aspects are key to the success of our campaign," the co-founder explained. “Therefore, one main feature of our score is simplicity, with a 1-10 scale sustained by a colored traffic-light system, both for our health and CO2 scores."
Danieli continued: "On the other hand, our scores are based upon globally recognized score systems Nutri-Score and the Nova Classification, backed by thousands of academic and scientific papers for our CO2 scores.
"More importantly, we are one of the first companies to introduce a 1-10 scale system for carbon footprint".

Some additional information
The websites of the various applications mentioned are accessible via the following links:
https://siga.care/application-mobile/

https://yuka.io/en/

http://itab.asso.fr/downloads/actus/itab_-_dossier_de_presse_planet-score_-_13072021.pdf

https://docs.score-environnemental.com/v/en/

https://www.foundation-earth.org/

Sources: foodnavigator.com

Information to Consumers policy: brief overview

09/12/2020 See details

EU, nutrition labelling and regulatory changes in view of Brexit

09/06/2020 See details

Italy: taking a stand against the Nutri-Score trend?

09/04/2020 See details

Nutrition labeling: the advent of the new prescriptors (part 1)

28/11/2019 See details

Global update on nutrition labelling

30/07/2018 See details

Back

________________________________________

Editor : TOMATO NEWS SAS - MAISON DE L'AGRICULTURE - TSA 48449 - 84912 AVIGNON Cedex 9 - FRANCE
contact@tomatonews.com
www.tomatonews.co m

Supporting partners