Three published systems
Potsticker rates every product the same way, using three systems that other people designed and published:
- Nutri-Score, the front-of-pack grade from A to E used in France, Belgium, Germany, Spain and other countries. It weighs energy, sugar, saturated fat and salt against fiber, protein and the share of fruit, vegetables and legumes.
- NOVA, a research classification of how processed a food is, in four groups: unprocessed or minimally processed, processed culinary ingredients, processed, and ultra-processed.
- UK traffic lights, the government's front-of-pack levels for fat, saturated fat, sugar and salt per 100 g.
From grade to word
The Nutri-Score grade sets the starting point: A and B start at Great, C at Good, D at Not great and E at Poor. Ultra-processed food (NOVA group 4) moves down one step.
Great also needs every source to agree. A product with any high traffic-light level stays at Good or below, and so does one where the processing group or any of the four levels isn't known. Nothing missing is ever filled in.
The reasons on the card
Under the word, the card lists up to four plain reasons with the amount per 100 g (per 100 ml for drinks), such as "High in saturated fat: 14 g per 100 g". The rest are one tap away.
- High in fat, saturated fat, sugar or salt: above the UK high level below.
- Low fat, saturated fat, sugar or salt: at or under the UK low level, which is also the European legal level for a "low" claim.
- High in fiber at 6 g per 100 g, good source of fiber at 3 g, as European claim rules set them.
- High in protein when protein gives at least 20% of the energy, good source of protein at 12%, and only for foods where Nutri-Score itself counts protein.
- Minimally processed for NOVA group 1, ultra-processed for group 4.
UK traffic-light levels, per 100 g of food and per 100 ml of drink:
| Nutrient | Low, food | High, food: above | Low, drinks | High, drinks: above |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fat | 3 g or less | 17.5 g | 1.5 g or less | 8.75 g |
| Saturated fat | 1.5 g or less | 5 g | 0.75 g or less | 2.5 g |
| Sugar | 5 g or less | 22.5 g | 2.5 g or less | 11.25 g |
| Salt | 0.3 g or less | 1.5 g | 0.3 g or less | 0.75 g |
When there's no word
Not enough info to rate means the product has no Nutri-Score yet. The card says what's missing and shows what is known, but never guesses a rating.
Not rated means Nutri-Score doesn't cover that kind of product, such as coffee, tea, herbs and spices. Alcoholic drinks are never rated.
What we don't do
- We don't judge single ingredients or additives. The rating only uses the three systems above.
- No brand pays for a rating or can change one. Every product is rated by the same rules.
- Ratings are information for shopping, not medical or dietary advice.
Where the product information comes from
Product names, photos, Nutri-Score grades, NOVA groups and nutrients come from Open Food Facts, a free database of food products that anyone can improve. It can contain mistakes. If a product looks wrong, you can fix it there, and Potsticker picks up the correction.
Open Food Facts data is available under the Open Database License, and its product photos are by Open Food Facts contributors under CC BY-SA. Potsticker uses the products sold in the United States. To get that data from us, write to [email protected]. Open Food Facts doesn't endorse Potsticker.
Sources
- Nutri-Score, Santé publique France. Potsticker shows the grade as Open Food Facts computes it with the 2023 rules.
- Ultra-processed foods, diet quality, and health using the NOVA classification system, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, 2019. Potsticker shows the NOVA group Open Food Facts gives each product.
- Guide to creating a front of pack nutrition label, Department of Health and Food Standards Agency, 2016.
- Regulation (EC) No 1924/2006 on nutrition and health claims, for the fiber, protein and "low" claim levels.