Tool · United Kingdom
HFSS score calculator
Enter the values per 100 g and the calculator works out the ‘A’ points, the ‘C’ points and the score — including the rule that stops a product scoring for protein once it reaches 11 ‘A’ points. It uses the 2004-05 nutrient profiling model, which is the one the regulations name. Free, no sign-up, everything stays in your browser.
‘A’ points — up to 10 each
| Energy | – |
| Saturated fat | – |
| Total sugar | – |
| Sodium | – |
| Total ‘A’ | – |
‘C’ points — up to 5 each
| Fruit, veg & nuts | – |
| Fibre | – |
| Protein | – |
| Total ‘C’ | – |
–
The score is arithmetic on the figures you type in. Whether the placement, promotion or advertising rules apply to your product depends on more than the score — see what the score does not tell you. Have the figures and the classification checked by a qualified person before you rely on them.
Which model the law actually points to
Search for an HFSS calculator and the first government page you meet is the Nutrient profiling model 2018. It is not the model the regulations use. Regulation 2 of the Food (Promotion and Placement) (England) Regulations 2021 defines the term it relies on, and it names a date:
“the Nutrient Profiling Technical Guidance” means the guidelines published by the Secretary of State on 14th January 2011 about the application of the 2004-2005 Nutrient Profiling Model
The 2018 model came out of a consultation and was never brought into force. A score worked out on it can differ from the one that counts, and it is the kind of error nobody notices, because both produce a plausible number. This calculator uses the 2011 guidance.
The three steps
The model is deliberately simple: points for the things you want less of, points back for the things you want more of, per 100 g of food or drink as consumed. In the words of the guidance, it applies “equally to all food and drink; there are no exemptions or category-specific criteria”.
- ‘A’ points, up to ten each, for energy, saturated fat, total sugar and sodium.
- ‘C’ points, up to five each, for the fruit, vegetable and nut content, for fibre and for protein.
- Subtract the ‘C’ points from the ‘A’ points.
Every threshold is a strict more than. Protein of exactly 3.2 g scores one point, not two — the guidance’s own worked example three turns on it.
The catch at 11 ‘A’ points
One sentence changes the arithmetic for exactly the products the model is aimed at:
If a food or drink scores 11 or more ‘A’ points then it cannot score points for protein unless it also scores 5 points for fruit, vegetables and nuts.
Five points for fruit, vegetables and nuts means more than 80 per cent — and that column is the other place people slip. It has no three and no four: the guidance prints a dash there. The jump is from two points at more than 60 per cent straight to five at more than 80. Treat the column as evenly spaced and an 85 per cent product collects four points instead of five, which is precisely the difference between protein counting and not counting.
Working out the fruit, vegetable and nut percentage
Dried fruit and vegetables count double, and so does commercially prepared concentrated tomato puree. Enter the weights and this gives you the figure for the field above.
Fruit, veg & nut content
–
Potatoes and other starchy vegetables such as yams do not count — the guidance uses the 5 A DAY definition. Nor do concentrated fruit juice sugars, powders or fruit leathers. All nuts count, peanuts included; seeds do not, unless they are commonly regarded as nuts.
What the score does not tell you
A score of four or more makes a food ‘less healthy’. It does not by itself make it restricted. Three things have to line up, and this calculator answers only the first:
- The score — four points for a food, one for a drink.
- The category — the placement and promotion rules apply to food listed in Schedule 1 of the regulations, not to everything that scores.
- The business — the rules turn on the size and type of the business, and charity sales are carved out.
And the geography matters: the Food (Promotion and Placement) (England) Regulations 2021 are English law. Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland legislate separately, while the advertising restrictions have their own, UK-wide basis. The model itself is the same one each of those regimes points at.
From the score to the label
The HFSS score is not a labelling requirement — nothing about it goes on the pack. What does go on the pack is the nutrition declaration it is calculated from, and that has to be right first: a sodium figure out by a factor of 2.5 moves the score by several points. Our nutrition calculator works the values out from the recipe, and the nutrition label tool sets them in the back-of-pack format. The background to the score itself is in our guide to HFSS and the nutrient profiling model.
Frequently asked questions
What HFSS score counts as ‘less healthy’?
Four or more points for a food, one or more for a drink. Regulation 3(4) puts it in those words: “food that is not a drink is less healthy if it scores 4 or more points in accordance with the Nutrient Profiling Technical Guidance” and “a drink is less healthy if it scores 1 or more points”.
Is the HFSS score based on the 2018 nutrient profiling model?
No — on the 2004-05 model, as applied by the guidance of 14 January 2011. The 2018 model was consulted on and never brought into force.
Why can some products not score points for protein?
Because a product on 11 or more ‘A’ points cannot score for protein unless it also scores five points for fruit, vegetables and nuts. It stops a high-energy, high-sugar product buying its score back on protein alone.
How do dried fruit and vegetables count?
Double. The guidance’s own worked example: 30 g of dried fruit against 70 g of other ingredients gives 60 ÷ 130 × 100 = 46 per cent.
Do potatoes count as vegetables for the score?
No. The guidance uses the 5 A DAY definition and says potatoes and other starchy vegetables such as yams do not count.
Does a score of 4 or more mean a product is banned?
No. It makes the product ‘less healthy’. Whether the rules then bite also depends on Schedule 1 and on the business, as set out above.
Are the rules the same across the United Kingdom?
Not for placement and promotion — those regulations are English law, and the other nations legislate separately. The nutrient profiling model is the same one they refer to.
This page explains the law and does not replace legal advice. Responsibility for what a label and a promotion say rests with the business placing the product on the market.