Update: Scan Data Improvements & New Look

This week, we released a new version of the Spoonful App on iOS and Android. One thing you’ll notice is that Spoonful looks a bit different than the last time you saw it. Aside from our new look, we’ve also made some improvements to our data that will increase the accuracy of your scans. We’ve also given you a path to message us regarding a particular scan if something doesn’t look right.

This post will cover some of the more noteworthy data changes and give you the scoop on the Spoonful rebrand. If you have any questions, feel free to email us at support@spoonfulapp.com or leave a comment on this post. Okay, away we go!

Data Improvements for Scan Results

Welcome Audrey Inouye, Jas Saurai, and Joanna Baker!

First off, we’re extremely grateful to welcome these three FODMAP-trained dietitians to the Spoonful team.

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Each of these experts specializes in treating IBS patients and, as a whole, have been working with our team over the last few months to improve scanner results. If you’d like to learn more about a particular team member, visit the Clinicians Section of our About Page.

Data Improvement – Exceptions

In its basic form, the Spoonful App works by underlining certain “trigger ingredients” that our dietitians find are moderate or high in FODMAPs at a single serving. This works in most cases, but not all. For example, apple cider vinegar is a low FODMAP ingredient, but it contains the word apple, a high FODMAP ingredient. In this case, we would consider apple cider vinegar an exception to apple.

Though exceptions have been part of our app since day 1, we’ve added many new ones in the latest release. Here are a few notable examples:

Flagged Ingredient	Exception
Whey	Whey Protein Isolate
Cocoa	Cocoa Powder
Corn Bran	Corn Bran Flour
Soybean	Soybean Lecithin

Trigger Ingredients

This version also includes several new “trigger ingredients” or foods that our team has classified as yellow or red based on perceived FODMAP content. Here are a few examples:

Ingredient	Classification
Broth, Stock	Oligosaccharide (Fructan)
Oatmilk	Oligosaccharide (Fructan)
Pea Protein	Oligosaccharide (Fructan, GOS)
Orange Juice	Monosaccharide (Fructose)
Tamarind Sauce	Oligosaccharide (Fructan)

Learn more about our methodology and how to interpret green, yellow and red products.

Red to Yellow

Based on team consensus, we’ve changed some ingredients from red to yellow. Here are a few:

• Bell Pepper
• Lychee
• Raisin
• Pomegranate
• Zucchini
• Cashews
• Certain Dried Fruits

We have also updated the notes for these ingredients, giving you further instruction on how to go about incorporating these foods into your diet. In many cases, we recommend you refer to the Monash App for more detailed information on serving sizes.

Flagging Products

This update is chock full of data improvements, but we can’t catch everything. That’s why we gave you the ability to call us out if something doesn’t look right.

To flag a particular product, tap the flag icon in the top right-hand corner of the results modal. From there, you’ll be asked to provide a brief message describing what you’d like us to review. We aim to review all flags within 24 hours, so be on the lookout for an email from the Spoonful team.

Spoonful’s New Look

If you’re reading this, you’ve probably noticed that things look a bit different around here. This week, we launched a new website, spoonfulapp.com, and published a complete overhaul of our logo, colors and fonts. Why? We thought you’d never ask… 🙂

It’s about what you CAN eat

Let’s face it, the Low FODMAP Diet can be pretty demoralizing. There are literally hundreds of foods to watch out for, and many of them are cornerstones of our diet (looking at you wheat, milk and onion). But as hard as things may be at times, the relief from excruciating symptoms coupled with the joy in finally finding a solution for IBS makes it all worthwhile.

So for our new look, we chose something a bit more playful and uplifting. Something that embodies the excitement and relief when you discover a whole pantry full of new products that are both delicious and gut friendly.

Our new logo exclaims Spoonful! with a sleek spoon to give it that extra oomph of joy. It also looks great at the end of other words like Gut-Check! for example.

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And what’s a new style guide without colors — all named after foods of course. We couldn’t resist. This new color palette brings a bit of brightness and, dare we say lemon zest, to the app.

Here’s a glance at how the new logo and color palette are displayed in the app. We love the contrast of the white logo on the dark green kale background. What do you think? Let us know in the comments.

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In case you want to see it all together, here’s a presentation prepared by our wonderful designer, Kelsey Cordutsky. She deserves most of the credit in this…

Spoonful Brand Guidelines from Sam Laber

Thank you for all your feedback

We know it’s cheesy to end on a proverb, but so too are food puns.

It takes a village to raise a child.

African Proverb

In this case, Spoonful is our child, and it takes a village of lovely people like you to get things right. We hope you continue to get value out of the app as we continue to improve it. As always, ruthless feedback and direct commentary is much appreciated.