Guide · Labelling
Nutri-Score explained — how it is calculated, and its limits
Almost everyone recognises the five-step colour scale from dark green to red. But how is the Nutri-Score actually calculated, is it compulsory, and what can it do — and not do? Here is the plain overview.
What is the Nutri-Score?
The Nutri-Score is an extended nutrition label for the front of the pack. It was developed in France, introduced in 2017 by the health agency Santé publique France, and condenses a product’s nutritional profile into a single grade: a five-step colour scale from A (dark green) through C (yellow) to E (red). Importantly, it is meant for comparison within the same product group — muesli against muesli, not oil against yoghurt.
Voluntary, not mandatory
Using the Nutri-Score is voluntary. EU law (the FIC Regulation) has no mandatory front-of-pack scheme. In Germany it has had a clear legal basis since 6 November 2020 — § 4a LMIDV, introduced by the first amending regulation of 21 October 2020.
“Nutri-Score” is a registered trade mark (since 2017) held by Santé publique France. To use it you have to register — free of charge — and accept the terms of use. Registration commits you to carrying the logo, after a transition period, on all products of the registered brand. It is used in France, Belgium, Germany, the Netherlands, Switzerland and Spain, among others.
How it is calculated
The basis is always the content per 100 g or 100 ml — not per portion. Points are awarded from the nutritional profile and set against each other:
- Negative points for unfavourable components: energy, saturates, sugars and salt.
- Positive points for favourable ones: the proportion of fruit, vegetables, pulses and nuts, plus fibre and protein.
Negative points minus positive points gives a total (roughly between −15 and +40). The lower the total, the better the grade: a low value leads to A, a high one to E. The exact point boundaries are set by the official calculation rules and differ by product category.
Three important special rules:
- Beverages have their own, stricter scale — the top grade A is reserved for water alone. Alcoholic drinks above 1.2 % by volume get no Nutri-Score at all.
- Fats, oils, nuts and seeds form their own category with an adjusted assessment.
- For cheese, protein always counts fully towards the positive side.
In short: an unsweetened plain yoghurt does markedly better, thanks to little sugar and a good protein share, than a heavily sweetened fruit yoghurt, where the sugar brings in a lot of negative points. Exactly those recipe differences decide the grade — the precise score follows the official category tables of the 2024 algorithm. Calculating it yourself is possible but laborious; Foodlex works the score out from the recipe.
The 2024 update: stricter
The algorithm was revised. For products newly placed on the market, the new calculation has applied since 31 December 2023; for products already labelled there was a transition period to the end of 2025 — since 1 January 2026 only the new algorithm is permitted. The main changes:
- Sugars and salt are assessed more strictly.
- Wholegrain and fibre are rewarded more — wholegrain products tend to do better.
- Sweeteners in drinks now attract deductions (no more incentive to simply swap sugar for sweetener).
- Red meat is assessed less favourably than poultry.
- Milk and plant drinks now count in the beverages category.
What the Nutri-Score cannot do
It assesses only the nutritional profile per 100 g or 100 ml. Among other things it does not reflect:
- the degree of processing;
- additives such as flavourings, colours or preservatives (the exception since 2024: sweeteners in drinks);
- the real portion size — the calculation is always on a fixed 100 g or 100 ml;
- individual vitamins and minerals.
Consumer groups therefore suggest treating the Nutri-Score as a first indication and reading the ingredient list as well — not least because small recipe changes can sometimes nudge the score in a flattering direction.
This article is general information and does not replace legal advice. What counts is the wording of the regulation as it applies at the time (the Nutri-Score calculation rules in force at the time and § 4a LMIDV). The English text of the Regulation is quoted from the consolidated version of 1 January 2018 on EUR-Lex.