FoodSwitch feature to help coeliacs

For people with coeliac disease and gluten intolerance, shopping for groceries can be at best complicated and at worst infuriating. A new feature on the food label-scanning app FoodSwitch will help coeliacs and people intolerant to gluten make more informed decisions in the supermarket.

The GlutenSwitch function provides instant information about whether a scanned product contains gluten - and also recommends gluten-free alternatives. At the same time, it shows consumer-friendly traffic lights for fat, saturated fat, sugars, salt and energy.

“We know only a small portion of Australians read and understand food labels. FoodSwitch makes it simple for shoppers to identify the best options for their heath and reduce the risks of Australia’s biggest killers - heart disease, stroke and cancers,” said the lead researcher on the GlutenSwitch initiative at The George Institute for Global Health, Dr Elizabeth Dunford.

“Since the launch of FoodSwitch, we’ve had hundreds of requests for a gluten add-on, highlighting an unmet need of consumers with coeliac disease or gluten intolerance.”

“Having something without gluten doesn’t automatically make it healthy and, as with many processed foods, some gluten-free products are high in sodium and saturated fat,” said Dr Paul Bates, Bupa Chief Medical Officer. The FoodSwitch app was developed by Bupa and The George Institute.

“This isn’t about chasing a fad. GlutenSwitch helps consumers who must maintain a gluten-free diet choose the best options for their health, so they don’t have to cut out entire food groups which could leave them lacking some nutrients.”

FoodSwitch allows consumers to scan the barcode of packaged food using their smartphone camera to receive immediate, easy-to-understand nutritional information on nearly 40,000 Australian supermarket products, including almost 10,000 gluten-free items. For more information, or to download the app, visit www.bupa.com.au/foodswitch.