Which Nutrition Score is Good? A Guide to Choosing Food Labels

Studies have consistently shown that consumers find front-of-pack labels like the Nutri-Score easier to understand and more effective for making healthier choices than complex nutritional tables. This raises a critical question for the health-conscious shopper: which nutrition score is good for guiding your purchasing decisions?

Quick Summary

This guide compares popular food scoring systems like Nutri-Score and Health Star Rating. It breaks down their methodologies, pros, and cons to help you evaluate which approach best informs your shopping decisions for a healthier lifestyle.

Key Points

• Nutri-Score is intuitive: The 5-color, letter-graded system (A-E) is backed by science and proven to help consumers quickly identify healthier product options.

• Scores compare similar products: Nutrition scores are most effective when comparing items within the same category, like different brands of cereal or yogurt.

• Beware of healthy outliers: Highly nutritious products consumed in small amounts, such as olive oil, can receive less favorable scores due to their high caloric density, so context is important.

• Multiple systems exist: Other systems, like the Health Star Rating and Multiple Traffic Light, offer different approaches to food labeling, focusing on overall quality or specific nutrients.

• Labels are tools, not rules: No single score replaces sound dietary recommendations or the importance of considering context and moderation for a balanced diet.

• Algorithms are improving: Systems like Nutri-Score regularly update their calculation algorithms based on the latest scientific evidence to provide more accurate classifications.

Demystifying the Role of Nutrition Scores

For decades, deciphering the fine print on a food’s nutritional table has been a challenge for the average consumer. In response, several countries and public health organizations have developed simplified, front-of-pack (FOP) labels to provide quick insights into a product's nutritional quality. These systems boil down complex data into an easy-to-understand visual, whether a letter, a color, or a star rating. While they don't replace an overall healthy diet guided by official recommendations, they serve as powerful tools for comparing similar products at a glance.

Decoding Nutri-Score

The Nutri-Score is a 5-color, letter-graded system (A-E) developed by independent scientists in France and adopted by several European countries. It provides an overall assessment of a food product's nutritional value per 100 grams or 100 milliliters.

How the Algorithm Works

The score is calculated by offsetting positive and negative nutritional elements.

• Unfavorable Components: Points are awarded for high energy (calories), saturated fats, sugars, and sodium content.
• Favorable Components: Points are deducted for high content of fruits, vegetables, legumes, nuts, fiber, and protein.
• Recent Updates: An algorithm revision in 2023 improved discrimination between foods, better rewarding products with low saturated fat content and high fiber.

Pros and Cons

• Pro: Highly intuitive and easy to understand at a glance, enabling quick comparison between similar products. Supported by a strong body of scientific evidence demonstrating its effectiveness in guiding consumer choices toward healthier options.
• Con: The per-100g/ml calculation can sometimes misrepresent products consumed in small quantities, like olive oil, which can receive a poor score due to its high fat content, despite being part of a healthy diet.

Understanding Health Star Rating (HSR)

The Health Star Rating (HSR) system is a voluntary FOP label used in Australia and New Zealand that assigns a star rating from 0.5 to 5.0 to packaged foods. The more stars, the healthier the product is considered to be.

How the Algorithm Works

Like Nutri-Score, HSR calculates a final score based on a balance of positive and negative factors, using a complex formula with different weighting rules.

• Positive Components: Includes protein, fiber, and fruit, vegetable, nut, and legume content.
• Negative Components: Includes energy, saturated fat, total sugar, and sodium.

Pros and Cons

• Pro: The star system is easily understood, and the system can account for more granular differences between certain products.
• Con: A study found that the Health Star Rating was less effective at capturing consumer attention and influencing perceived healthiness compared to other systems like Nutri-Score or warning labels.

The Multiple Traffic Light (MTL) System

The Multiple Traffic Light (MTL) system, used in the UK, uses red, amber, and green color coding for specific nutrients per portion, including fat, saturated fat, sugars, and salt.

How the Algorithm Works

Unlike composite scores, the MTL system does not provide a single overall rating. Instead, it offers a color-coded indicator for each key nutrient based on its concentration per 100g or serving.

Pros and Cons

• Pro: Very transparent about which specific nutrients are high or low, empowering consumers to make targeted choices.
• Con: The lack of an overall score can make it difficult to compare products with mixed signals (e.g., high in one bad nutrient, low in another).

Comparison of Major Nutrition Scoring Systems

Feature	Nutri-Score	Health Star Rating (HSR)	Multiple Traffic Light (MTL)
Visual Format	5-color, letter-graded (A-E)	0.5 to 5 stars	Color-coded (Red/Amber/Green) for each nutrient
Basis for Calculation	Per 100g or 100ml	Per 100g or serving size	Per serving size
Nutrient Evaluation	Comprehensive (positive & negative)	Comprehensive (positive & negative)	Specific nutrients only (Fat, Sugar, Salt)
Focus	Overall nutritional quality	Overall nutritional quality	Individual nutrient content
Best For	Quick, intuitive comparison of similar products	Overall comparison within similar categories	Identifying specific nutrient content to limit
Weakness	Can penalize some healthy items (like olive oil) based on density	Less visually intuitive than Nutri-Score for quick assessment	No overall score, can be confusing with mixed colors

Which Nutrition Score is Good: A Practical Guide

So, which nutrition score is good? The answer isn't a one-size-fits-all solution, but rather depends on what you are trying to achieve as a consumer. For those seeking the most robust and scientifically validated tool for overall comparisons, Nutri-Score is often recommended by public health experts. Its simplicity and effectiveness have been widely demonstrated. However, context is key.

Practical Shopping Tips

1. Compare Within Categories: All systems are best used to compare similar products. Use Nutri-Score to compare different breakfast cereals, or HSR to compare different brands of yogurt.
2. Use Scores as a Guide, Not a Rule: Don't avoid a product with a moderate score if it's a whole food consumed in moderation (like olive oil). Use the score to identify less healthy choices you should limit, especially highly processed foods.
3. Read the Back for Specifics: For those focusing on a specific nutrient (e.g., sodium), the traditional nutritional facts panel on the back is still the most precise tool. Consider using an interpretive label like the MTL in combination with the detailed panel for clarity.
4. Stay Informed: The science behind these scores is constantly evolving. For example, Nutri-Score has been updated to reflect new scientific findings, demonstrating its commitment to accuracy. Always be aware of the latest updates. You can learn more about how food labeling systems work through resources like the World Health Organization's guidance on healthy eating.

Conclusion

Ultimately, a good nutrition score is one that helps you make more informed and healthier choices in the supermarket. For many, the evidence-based Nutri-Score, with its intuitive color-coded system, proves to be the most effective for a quick comparison of overall nutritional quality. However, systems like the Health Star Rating and Multiple Traffic Light also offer valuable information. By understanding the methodology behind each, consumers can leverage these tools effectively to navigate the modern food landscape, identify better options, and improve their dietary habits over time.

Frequently Asked Questions

How is Nutri-Score different from the Health Star Rating (HSR)?

Nutri-Score uses a 5-color, letter-graded scale (A-E), while HSR uses a 0.5 to 5-star rating. Both evaluate positive and negative nutrients, but studies suggest Nutri-Score is more effective at capturing attention and influencing consumer choice.

Can I trust the nutrition scores on packaging?

Yes, but with context. The scores are based on defined algorithms that evaluate nutrients. However, they are most useful for comparing similar packaged products, not as a complete guide for an entire diet.

Why does olive oil sometimes receive a poor Nutri-Score?

The Nutri-Score calculation is based on nutritional values per 100g/ml, and olive oil is very high in fat, which is a negative factor. This does not mean it is unhealthy in small, typical serving sizes, but highlights a limitation of this per-gram calculation.

Do nutrition scores consider additives or preservatives?

No, most standard front-of-pack (FOP) scores like Nutri-Score and HSR do not factor in the presence of additives, preservatives, or the degree of food processing. They focus strictly on the nutrient composition.

How do I use a nutrition score to compare two different types of food?

Nutrition scores are not designed for comparing vastly different food types (e.g., comparing cookies to soup). They are most effective when comparing products within the same category to help you choose the option with the better nutritional profile.

Is a mandatory nutrition score more effective than a voluntary one?

Research shows that widespread adoption, whether voluntary or mandatory, significantly improves effectiveness. A system like Nutri-Score requires manufacturers to label all products in their portfolio if they adopt it, which promotes more consistent consumer comparison.

What is the key takeaway for a busy shopper?

For a quick decision, the highly visual Nutri-Score (or a similar color-coded system) can guide you toward healthier products in the same category. For specific nutritional goals, such as limiting salt, a system like the Multiple Traffic Light offers more targeted information.