‘FoodSwitch’ mobile app from The George Institute voted the ‘Most Valuable HPC or Healthcare Initiative’
eyeforpharma Barcelona Awards: Tuesday 18th March, Barcelona 2014: In a unanimous decision by a panel of industry experts, ‘FoodSwitch’, an innovative mobile app created by The George Institute and Senior Director, Bruce Neal, won the ‘Most Valuable HPC or Healthcare Initiative’ category.
FoodSwitch allows everyday shoppers and dinners look up food products and obtain a quick, clear indication of how the food product rates in terms of health factor. What gives this app unique flexibility and longevity is, if a food item is not listed, the user can just add in the name or upload a photo of it – and it is instantly added to the database.
This was something that certainly appealed to consumers when it was first launched in Australia. Within a week, more than 40,000 people had downloaded and used the app. Furthermore, they had also interacted with it, sending in a staggering 26,000 photos of food within 48 hours, which helped to expand the data base from around 15,000 to more than 50,000 items.
Consumer interest and usage of the app has continued to grow. In the 24 months since launch, there have been more than 450,000 downloads and every day, an average of 500 photographs are contributed, helping to keep the database contemporary and complete. The New Zealand launch followed a similar pattern. The plan is to launch FoodSwitch in the UK early in 2014.
“Our judges felt that ‘FoodSwitch’ was not only innovative but, by linking food decisions to medical outcomes, it was giving people more control over disease impact and was an excellent example of how new technology could be utilised to improve public health,” says Paul Simms, Chairman of eyeforpharma.
“It is easy to see how it not only benefited the end user but also is a valuable initiative for all players in healthcare, including physicians, care providers and payers.”