ZOE App: Decoding Food Labels with Science

https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2684347/ZOE_Health_App.mp4

May 13, 2025 /Mpelembe Media/ — A new free app called ZOE Health, developed by scientists and doctors to help consumers make healthier food choices has been launched. The app uses AI to analyse food items from a photo, providing users with insights based on processing methods and their potential health impact, categorized on a risk scale. This initiative aims to combat misleading food marketing and conflicting nutritional advice, empowering Americans to navigate the food landscape more effectively and understand what is truly in their food beyond marketing buzzwords.

The primary problem the ZOE Health app aims to solve is the widespread **confusion and difficulty consumers face when trying to make healthy food choices** in the current food environment.

This confusion stems from several factors:

A flood of conflicting nutrition advice, often from social media ‘wellness experts’ promoting trendy products lacking scientific backing. According to ZOE’s research, 76% of Americans think there is a lot of conflicting nutrition advice available.

Misleading marketing and confusing food labels used by the food industry. Marketing buzzwords like “natural,” “low fat,” or “high protein” don’t always tell the full story. Many shoppers are misled by these buzzwords, with 61% agreeing they think something labeled ‘high protein’ is good for them, and 44% believing the same for ‘low fat’. The food industry is described as being “rife with misinformation and confusing health halos”. ZOE’s research found that 49% of Americans rely on food labels to guide purchases, yet 1 in 4 question their accuracy.

A widespread lack of understanding around food processing and its impact on health. ZOE’s research shows that 49% of Americans don’t always know what’s healthy or not in the grocery store.
Consumers are overwhelmed and struggle to know what’s truly healthy, despite many wanting to make healthier choices.

This problematic food system contributes to soaring rates of chronic conditions like obesity, type 2 diabetes, and heart disease. The ZOE Health app aims to cut through this confusion and the “noise”, giving consumers clear, science-based insights to help them understand what is “really inside their food” and navigate the grocery store aisles with simple, actionable changes.

The ZOE Risk Scale is a tool used within the ZOE Health app that evaluates foods based on the impact which the processing methods are likely to have on health. It aims to cut through the confusion and misleading marketing around food and help users understand how food will impact their health beyond misleading packaging and wellness buzzwords.

Using ZOE’s research and analysis of over one million everyday food products from their database, the ZOE Risk Scale categorises foods as:

Unprocessed
No Risk
Low Risk
Medium Risk
Highest Risk

While the scale specifically focuses on the processing methods and their potential health impact, food processing is only one part of understanding how healthy a food is. The ZOE app combines this processing data with many other data points to create an overall score for any meal. This tool helps people understand which processed foods are harmful, which are fine in moderation, and which can actually be a healthy part of your diet.

The company ZOE was founded by **Professor Tim Spector of King’s College London** and **data science leader Jonathan Wolf**. Professor Tim Spector is described as a scientific co-founder, and Jonathan Wolf is identified as a co-founder and CEO. The company is located in London and Boston.

In essence, the ZOE Health app combines extensive scientific research and data analysis with AI technology, particularly the food camera feature, to provide users with accessible, evidence-based insights about the food they eat, aiming to combat confusion and empower healthier choices

The press release is available here