His curiosity about what exactly was going into that little mouth led to an obsession with researching the ingredients in processed foods. And in 2002, that obsession blossomed into the creation of a public service website called foodfacts.com.
Now the leading Internet source for nutrition and ingredient data, the Edison-based organization “has cataloged over 100,000 food products," says managing director Sarah Butterfield. "And 50 to 100 more are added every day,”
Rak, now 71, owned a successful car parts business. He developed, and later sold, the computer-based parts cataloging system used by the nation’s automotive stores today. He adapted this technology to creating a database of common food ingredients and their nutritional values.
Amidst conflicting or insufficient information about food allergies, gluten-intolerance and basic nutrition, “we are really passionate about informing people about what’s really in their food, and we don’t like how manufacturers try to hide that,” says Butterfield. “It’s not just the dangerous chemicals, but also the amount of sugar. Even juice can end up having as much sugar as a can of Coke.”
Rak created an algorithm that conveys nutrition facts and rates quality of ingredients without regard to flavor or appearance. This results in a grade of A through F, with corresponding smiley or sad emoticons.
Next to a photo of the product, visitors to foodfacts.com see its nutrition label. That information is broken down into “Good News” and “Bad News” concerning such things as calories, fats, cholesterol, fiber, sodium, sugar and vitamins. The product “can lose points if it contains controversial ingredients, or gain points if it has extra vitamins and minerals,” Butterfield says.
The group’s latest project is the FoodFacts BABY Nutrition, Allergen and Score Guide: The Must-Have Book for Families With Allergies, Food Sensitivities, or Other Nutritional Concerns.
Written by Rak and edited by Butterfield, the book, available from Amazon in paperback for $14.99 or as an ebook for $9.99, aims to help parents and children head-off the problem of obesity at its start, in early childhood.
“Childhood obesity has doubled in children in the last 30 years,” Butterfield says. “Children and adolescents who are obese are more likely to be obese as adults. The epidemic really does start in childhood. What you eat as a child turns into what you choose to eat as an adult.”
A 26-year-old hoping to start a family someday, Butterfield has taken the information to heart. A graduate of Rutgers, she has come a long way through her affiliation with Foodfacts. Growing up in Woodbridge and Colonia, “I was raised on hot dogs and mac and cheese,” she says. Vegetables still don’t appeal to her, but her fiancé is introducing her to good produce, which he grew in his backyard garden as a boy.
Now both Butterfield and Rak find that when they come to visit, friends and family try to hide the less-than-healthy stuff in their cupboards from the crusaders’ prying eyes. One thing you won’t find in Rak and Butterfield’s own kitchens are those crunchy orange day-glow snacks that catapulted foodfacts into being.
SUZANNE ZIMMER LOWERY is a food writer, pastry chef and culinary instructor at a number of New Jersey cooking schools. Find out more about her at suzannelowery.com.