When buying food, there are so many factors to consider -- from what's organic to how much packaging is involved.
But a new Web site wants to help you out with just a few clicks of a mouse.
Click here for expert ratings on GoodGuide.com.
Sebastian Brune is like most 6 month olds.
He likes to put everything in his mouth.
His mom, Mary, wants to know exactly what's in his baby food and products.
"These are his first foods, other than my breast milk, so I really want to make sure it's as safe for him as possible," Mary Brune said.
That's why she uses Good Guide.
It’s a free Web site that rates food, toys and household products according to their health, environmental and social impacts.
"Basically, what we're trying to do at good guide is to get the best information in the world out to the public in a simple easy to use form" Good Guide co-founder Dara O’Rourke said.
That's easier said than done.
Good Guide uses a team of scientists crunching algorithms into their computers to form a ratings system.
Good Guide was born out of Dara O'Rourke's concern for his own family's health and safety.
"One of the surprising things for me as a researcher and for me as a parent, I have a 6-year-old daughter, is how many products on us store shelves have ingredients that have been banned in Europe, banned in Japan, regulated in Canada," said O’Rourke.
O'Rourke's mission is to let you look beyond the marketing and the ads without having to have a Ph.D.
"I'm a professor at U.C. Berkley. I study these issues. I study them all day long, but it's very difficult for a busy parent to know these things and really know what's in these products and know there are these chemicals that are being phased out around the world that we are still feeding our families," O’Rourke said.
It's exactly what Brune wants.
"You can see at a glance the health impacts and you can see what's underneath the rating, and see why did that get a great rating for environment."
It's another tool that helps parents make the best choices for their children.
Good Guide also has an iPhone application, so you can check out products and food while you are at the store.
In the future, Good Guide wants to add pet food, electronics and airlines to its list of categories.
For additional information, stay with NBC 4 and refresh nbc4i.com -- Where Accuracy Matters.
To submit a story idea or news tip, e-mail stories@nbc4i.com.
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