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Nutri-Score now more compatible with NOVA processed foods classification

The European front-of-pack nutrition logo, Nutri-Score, is now better aligned with the processed food classification NOVA, following a 2026 algorithm update.

The update means that fewer products considered to be ultra-processed have a favourable Nutri-Score rating.

Developed in France back in 2017 and now used voluntarily in several European countries, such as France, Spain, the Netherlands, and Belgium, the Nutri-Score profiles the nutritional content of foods, using a colour code and A-E rating based on unfavourable and favourable elements per 100g.

The NOVA classification, developed in 2009 by researchers in Brazil and used to inform dietary guidelines in a number of Latin American countries, classifies foods into four groups based on the level of processing: unprocessed/minimally processed, processed culinary ingredients, processed foods, and ultra-processed foods.

In 2023 – after two years of intensive scientific work – the Nutri-Score's algorithm used to assess products was updated by a European scientific committee and implemented on January 1, 2024, with a two-year transition period.

The new Nutri-Score labels are now already in place across most countries where the system is used, with France set to implement them in March 2027.

Comparing Nutri-Score and NOVA

Writing in Public Health Nutrition, a team of French researchers said Europe's new front-of-pack Nutri-Score now aligns more favourably with the NOVA food processing classification, noting a “coherence” between the two systems.

Using data from the OpenFoodFacts database of 129,950 products from the French food market, findings showed that, overall, the update to the Nutri-Score algorithm led to a reduction in the number of products rated A and B and an increase in the number of products rated D or E, across all NOVA categories.

“The updated version of the Nutri-Score appeared to be more aligned with the NOVA classification, with significantly less ultra-processed foods being rated favourably,” the researcher wrote.

Findings showed that unprocessed foods are the least impacted and ultra-processed foods the most impacted. Ultra-processed foods like artificially sweetened beverages, sweetened plant-based drinks and bread products, previously rated favourably by Nutri-Score, are now penalised under the new algorithm, for example.

Nutri-Score and Nova: “Inter-related” yet “distinct”

The researchers said that whilst both systems are “inter-related”, it is important to acknowledge that they remain “distinct” and “complementary” in terms of the health dimensions they measure in foods–even with the Nutri-Score update.

Under the Nutri-Score, for example, some reconstituted meat substitutes or diet sodas may have rather favourable nutritional profiles but under NOVA are considered ultra-processed.

Conversely, a home-made chocolate cake or 100% pure fruit juice whilst not ultra-processed can have rather poor nutritional profiles, with high levels of saturated fats, sugar and/or energy.

So, why compare the two systems? “At the moment, only information on the nutritional quality is directly available to consumers, through front-of-pack labelling, hence the importance of exploring the alignment between the two systems,” the researchers explained.

Towards an integrated Nutri-Score + NOVA nutrition logo

Speaking to Ingredients Network, Professor Serge Hercberg, co-author of the study and part of the team behind the Nutri-Score, said the next step is working to develop labelling that integrates both systems.

“It is possible to hope that in the coming years, a Nutri-Score integrating ultra-processing will be developed. Research is progressing in this direction, particularly within our team” Hercberg said.

Within the 2023 Nutri-Score update, for example, a proposal was made to feature a black banner around the Nutri-Score label to indicate that a food is ultra-processed. And this proposal, the professor said, has been validated as comprehensive amongst consumers in a study with more than 20,000 participants.

Further academic research is now needed, along with government engagement, for decisions to take place, he said. Importantly, both industry and consumers must be consulted and involved in any future implementation of a combined label, he added.

The study authors outline and expand on this: “Further research needs to identify the mechanisms by which ultra-processed foods affect health and how they interact with nutritional quality. Such information is required if we want, in the future, to upgrade the algorithm of the Nutri-Score by integrating both dimensions.”

Beyond this, the researchers said a regulatory framework also needs to be built around the definitions of processed and ultra-processed foods before such changes can be implemented.

In the meantime, the team suggested health authorities continue communication on how to use the Nutri-Score adequately, whilst promoting the consumption of minimally processed foods.