Text your food queries

Use your phone to get data

By Ashley Griffin Gartland

June 20, 2008

Sure, most people send text messages on their cell phones to socialize. (“M4C,” for example, is texting shorthand for “meet for coffee.”) But you can also use your cell phone to look up useful info on the go.

Trying to determine which types of fish are safe, healthy, and sustainable? Simply text 30644, along with the fish you’re wondering about — say, ahi tuna. The Blue Ocean Institute will respond by ranking your choice as green (great), yellow (good), or red (skip it).

If you’re simply looking for dinner ideas, sign up for the Epicurious service called Epi Bytes that sends users dinner ideas, recipes, and food-prep tips by phone.

Overseas, the London-based food-allergy alert service Alert4Allergy sends messages to sensitive eaters about mislabeled foods that contain the ingredients they’re allergic to.

And for those watching their caloric intake on the road, Diet.com will send out free text messages containing the nutritional information on food from the largest fast-food chains.