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Understanding Nutri-Score: calculation, grades A to E and limitations

By Yumiq

Understanding Nutri-Score: calculation, grades A to E and limitations

Nutri-Score ranks foods from A to E based on their nutritional quality. Here’s how it is calculated, what each grade means, and why it doesn’t tell the whole story.

Where does Nutri-Score come from?

Nutri-Score is a nutritional logo placed on the front of packaging. It was created bySanté publique Franceat the request of the Ministry of Health, and is based on the work of the team ofProfessor Serge Hercbergfrom the nutritional epidemiology research unit (Inserm, Sorbonne Paris Nord University). ANSES and the High Council for Public Health also provided their expertise. It was implemented in France in2017.

The system is now managed by seven countries: Belgium, France, Germany, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Spain and Switzerland. A steering committee brings them together, supported by a European scientific committee responsible for developing the algorithm.

The principle of the logo: five letters, five colours

The logo combines a letter fromA to Ewith a colour, ranging from dark green (A) to dark orange (E). It complements the mandatory nutrition declaration of the European INCO regulation, without replacing it. Its use isvoluntary: manufacturers choose to display it, after free registration of the brand with Santé publique France.

How the grade is calculated

The score is calculated for100 gor100 mLof product. Unfavourable points are added up, favourable points are subtracted, and the balance gives the letter and the colour.

  • To be limited(unfavourable points): energy, saturated fatty acids, sugars, salt and, for beverages, sweeteners.
  • To be encouraged(favourable points): fibre, protein, as well as fruit, vegetables and legumes.

The more a product provides of what needs to be limited, the further it moves away from A. The more it contains favourable elements, the higher it goes. The same logic applies to all foods, with scales adapted to certain families: drinks, fats and cheeses have their own rules, because their composition makes the general scale less relevant.

An update of the algorithm since March 2025

The European scientific committee reviewed the algorithm: a report onsolid foodsin June 2022, a report ondrinksin 2023. The seven countries voted for these changes on 26 July 2022 for solid foods, and then on 30 March 2023 for drinks. The new rules are applied from 1 January 2024 in Germany, Belgium, Switzerland and the Netherlands, andin March 2025 in France.

In France, a decree dated 14 March 2025, published in the Official Journal on 15 March, sets out the form of presentation of the Nutri-Score and repeals the 2017 decree. Companies havetwo yearsto adapt their packaging: during this period, old and new logos can therefore coexist on the shelves.

Among the changes described by the scientific committee and by public sources:

  • Sugars and salt: the negative points are strengthened.
  • Proteins and red meat: protein points increase, but those from red meat are limited.
  • Fibres: the allocation of points better distinguishes whole grain products from refined products.
  • Fruits, vegetables and legumes: the component no longer includes rapeseed, olive and nut oils.
  • Oils: olive, rapeseed, nut and oleic sunflower oils move to B, while other oils are classified from C to E according to their saturated fatty acid content.
  • Drinks: water remains the only drink classified as A, drinks with sweeteners are penalised, and plant-based drinks and sweetened milk are included in the drinks algorithm.

The same recipe can therefore change its letter. A special case, that of olive oil, is detailed in our articleDoes a bad Nutri-Score mean a bad product?.

How to read the letters

The Nutri-Score is used tocompare products with each other, preferably within the same category: two breakfast cereals, two prepared meals, two drinks. An A does not mean that a food is "good for everyone" in all quantities, and a D does not mean that it is forbidden: it indicates a less favourable nutritional profile for 100 g or 100 mL.

  • It is calculated per 100 g: the actual portion eaten is not taken into account.
  • It is optional: the absence of a logo says nothing about the product.
  • It does not measure processing: an ultra-processed product can get a good score. SeeUnderstanding the NOVA classification.
  • It does not judge additivesor environmental impact, which is covered inUnderstanding the Green-Score.

To find out how to cross-reference it with other benchmarks, seeAll scores compared: Nutri-Score, NOVA, Green-ScoreandWhich nutritional score is the most reliable?. The Nutri-Score also exists outside France, with competitors such as the British traffic light system:The Nutri-Score worldwide: countries, Canada and the traffic light system.

What do the studies say?

The Nutri-Score is based on a nutritional profile index (FSAm-NPS) whose value has been tested on cohorts. A study published in the BMJ in September 2020, conducted by teams from Inserm, INRAE, Cnam, Sorbonne Paris Nord University and the International Cancer Research Centre, followed 501,594 people from the European cohortEPIC(10 countries), with a median follow-up of 17 years. During this period, 53,112 participants died from non-accidental causes. People whose diet had the lowest score (the top fifth of the index) had a slightly higher risk of all-cause mortality (risk ratio of 1.07) than those in the most favourable fifth.

Similar links had already been observed in the French SU.VI.MAX andNutriNet-Santécohorts, as well as in the UK and Spain. These areassociationsobserved in observational studies, which do not prove a cause-and-effect relationship.

The Nutri-Score in Yumiq

In Yumiq, the nutritional profile (Nutri-Score) is one of the dimensions of the Yumiq-Score, along with transformation (NOVA) and environmental impact (Green-Score). The product sheet displays the Nutri-Score letter.

Sources

Frequently asked questions

Is Nutri-Score mandatory?
No. Its display is voluntary: manufacturers choose to put it on their packaging, after free registration with Santé publique France. The absence of a logo therefore means nothing about the quality of the product.
What has changed with the new calculation?
A decree of 14 March 2025 implements the updated version of the algorithm in France. Sugars and salt are more penalised, whole grain products are better distinguished from refined ones, some oils move to B, and drinks with sweeteners are penalised. Companies have two years to adapt their packaging.
Is a product graded A always better than a product graded C?
Within the same category, an A has a more favourable nutritional profile per 100 g. But Nutri-Score does not measure processing, additives or the actual portion consumed: it should be read alongside other benchmarks such as NOVA.
Who created Nutri-Score?
Santé publique France created it at the request of the Ministry of Health, based on the work of Professor Serge Hercberg's team (Inserm, Sorbonne Paris Nord University). It was implemented in France in 2017 and is now managed by seven European countries.