What is the difference between Nutri-Score, NOVA and Green-Score?

The Nutri-Score assesses nutritional quality per 100 g or 100 mL, from A to E. NOVA classifies the degree of industrial processing, from 1 to 4. The Green-Score measures environmental impact, from A+ to F according to Open Food Facts. They answer three different questions and complement each other.

Why can a product have a good Nutri-Score and be NOVA 4?

Because the two scores do not measure the same thing: the Nutri-Score looks at nutrients, NOVA at processing. A 2024 study of nearly 130,000 products shows that most ultra-processed foods are poorly rated on the Nutri-Score, but not all. The disagreement is information, not an error.

Which score should you look at first?

None has priority. A simple reading: the Nutri-Score for nutritional value within the same product family, NOVA and the ingredient list for processing, then the Green-Score to decide on the environment. Frequency of consumption is as important as the score.

Nutri-Score, NOVA, Green-Score: comparison

Three scores, three different questions

Nutri-Score, NOVA and Green-Score are often presented side by side, but they do not answer the same question. The first assesses thenutritional quality, the second thedegree of industrial processing, the third theenvironmental impact. Opposing them therefore makes little sense: they complement each other, and it is sometimes their disagreement that is most instructive.

This article compares them section by section, explains why they may contradict each other and proposes a simple way to cross-reference them. For details on each, seeUnderstanding the Nutri-Score: calculation, grades A to E and limitations,Understanding the NOVA classificationandUnderstanding the Green-Score.

The comparison at a glance

In the absence of a table, here is a fact sheet for each score, with the same sections.

Nutri-Score

What it measures: the nutritional profile, per 100 g or 100 mL. The score takes into account elements to be encouraged (fibre, protein, fruit, vegetables, legumes) and those to be limited (energy, saturated fatty acids, sugars, salt, and sweeteners for beverages).
Scale: five letters, from A (dark green) to E (dark orange).
Coverage: food products and beverages whose manufacturer has chosen to display the logo, but the score can also be calculated from the nutritional table.
Strengths: immediate reading, transparent calculation, based on mandatory label data.
Limitations: says nothing about additives, processing or the environment, and is mainly compared within the same product family.

NOVA

What it measures: the nature and intensity of industrial processing, based on the list of ingredients.
Scale: four groups, from 1 (unprocessed or minimally processed) to 4 (ultra-processed).
Coverage: no obligation to display. It is mainly found in Open Food Facts and the applications that use it, with an automatic calculation that remains experimental.
Strengths: highlights what Nutri-Score doesn't see, such as the presence of additives or industrially-used ingredients.
Limitations: no consensual definition of ultra-processed foods for ANSES, partly subjective application, no nutritional information.

Green-Score

What it measures: the environmental impact of a food product, based on around fifteen life cycle analysis indicators (climate, water, soil, pollution) from Agribalyse, adjusted by bonuses and penalties.
Scale: from A+ (very low impact) to F (very high impact) according to Open Food Facts' presentation.
Coverage: food products sold in France first, with average values when precise data is lacking.
Strengths: the only one of the three to look at the environment, with a public method.
Limitations: the score is still young and can be improved, some impacts such as biodiversity are poorly captured, and accuracy depends on the data entered (origin of ingredients, packaging).

A legal framework that is very different depending on the scores

In France, the Nutri-Score isoptional: according to Santé publique France, producers can affix it to their products on a voluntary basis, in addition to the mandatory nutritional declaration provided for by the European INCO regulation. Its algorithm was updated in 2023 at the initiative of the European scientific committee, with a gradual implementation in France since March 2025.

NOVA and Green-Score have no regulatory status for display: they are information tools, calculated by researchers or open databases. A product without a logo is therefore not a product without a rating: these scores can be calculated by someone other than the manufacturer. For the context of environmental labelling, seeThe Eco-Score becomes Green-Score: what changes.

The Nutri-Score is also not the only existing front-of-pack labelling system:our article on the Nutri-Score worldwide and the British traffic light systemshows another approach.

Why they can contradict each other

Disagreement is not an error: each score looks at a different dimension. Three situations occur frequently.

Favourable Nutri-Score, NOVA 4: a product can get a good grade and still be ultra-processed. A study by Sarda and colleagues (Public Health Nutrition, 2024), conducted on nearly 130,000 products from Open Food Facts, shows that the vast majority of ultra-processed products (from 77.9% to 87.5% depending on the algorithm version) receive an average to poor rating, but not all. With the old version, some sweetened drinks, sweetened plant-based drinks or ultra-processed breads could still get an A or B.
NOVA 2, average Nutri-Score: olive oil is a culinary ingredient in NOVA group 2 (like oils in general). In terms of Nutri-Score, being very high in fat, it was rated D; a first correction, following a 2019 opinion by ANSES pointing out the inconsistency with dietary guidelines that recommend it, raised it to C, and it moves to B with the new algorithm, according to sante.fr.
Local or organic product, but very sweet: an organic biscuit produced near you may have a respectable Green-Score and a poor Nutri-Score. Conversely, a low-sugar product sourced from far away may score well for nutrition but less well for environmental impact.

The same authors conclude that the update to Nutri-Score improves its consistency with NOVA, while reminding us that the two systems measure two distinct dimensions: nutritional content and degree of processing. Aligning the scores is therefore not the goal; the difference between them provides useful information.

Using them together in practice: three questions

Rather than looking for a single winning score, ask three questions in this order.

What is its nutritional value?Look at the Nutri-Score, preferably to compare products from the same category (two breakfast cereals, two yoghurts).
What is its degree of processing?Look at the NOVA group and the ingredient list. The shorter and more recognisable it is, the closer the product is to a raw food.
What is its environmental impact?Look at the Green-Score to differentiate between two products that are equivalent on the first two points.

When the three scores point in the same direction, interpretation is straightforward. When they diverge, it is a signal to look more closely, not a reason to dismiss a score. The question of their robustness is addressed inWhich nutritional score is the most reliable?.

Remember that no score replaces frequency and quantity: a moderately rated product consumed rarely has less impact than a well-rated product consumed every day in large quantities.

What Yumiq does

In Yumiq, the product page displays these three indicators: the Nutri-Score, the NOVA group and the Green-Score. The Yumiq-Score combines them into a single rating, along with other dimensions: a penalty for additives flagged by EFSA (risk of overexposure) or ANSES in the Open Food Facts taxonomy, a bonus for verifiable quality labels, and the average of community reviews. Each dimension remains available for detailed consultation.

The Yumiq star is more demanding: it requires, among other things, NOVA 1, a Green-Score of A or A+, and the absence of risky additives. The details are provided inUnderstanding the Yumiq-Score and the Yumiq star.

All scores compared: Nutri-Score, NOVA, Green-Score