A new study on the complementarity between the updated version of the Nutri-Score (nutritional composition) and the NOVA classification (degree of transformation)

A new study published in Public Health Nutrition on 129,950 food products (Open Food Facts database) compared the initial and the updated versions of the label Nutri-Score (related to the nutritional content) with the NOVA classification (related to the degree of food processing) at food level.

With both versions (i.e. initial and updated) of the Nutri-Score, the majority of ultraprocessed products received medium to poor Nutri-Score ratings (between 77.9% and 87.5% of ultra-processed products depending on the version of the algorithm).

Overall, the update of the Nutri-Score algorithm led to a reduction in the number of products rated A and B and an increase in the number of products rated D or E for all NOVA categories, with unprocessed foods being the least impacted and ultra-processed foods the most impacted.

These results indicate that the update of the Nutri-Score reinforces its coherence with the NOVA classification, even though both systems measure two distinct health dimensions at the food level.

Text of the full article on : https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/public-health-nutrition/article/complementarity-between-the-updated-version-of-the-frontofpack-nutrition-label-nutriscore-and-the-foodprocessing-nova-classification/38D3F972F1F2414E3856E29FE09D35E8?utm_campaign=shareaholic&utm_medium=linkedin&utm_source=socialnetwork

ABSTRACT

Objective:
To compare the initial and the updated versions of the front-pf-pack label Nutri-Score (related to the nutritional content) with the NOVA classification (related to the degree of food processing) at the food level.

Design:
Using the OpenFoodFacts database -129,950 food products-, we assessed the complementarity between the Nutri-Score (initial and updated) with the NOVA classification through a correspondence analysis. Contingency tables between the two classification systems were used.

Results:
With both versions (i.e. initial and updated) of the Nutri-Score, the majority of ultra-processed products received medium to poor Nutri-Score ratings (between 77.9% and 87.5% of ultra-processed products depending on the version of the algorithm). Overall, the update of the Nutri-Score algorithm led to a reduction in the number of products rated A and B and an increase in the number of products rated D or E for all NOVA categories, with unprocessed foods being the least impacted (-3.8 percentage points (-5.2%) rated A or B and +1.3 percentage points (+12.9%) rated D or E) and ultra-processed foods the most impacted (-9.8 percentage points (-43.4%) rated A or B and +7.8 percentage points (+14.1%) rated D or E). Among ultra-processed foods rated favourably with the initial Nutri-Score, artificially-sweetened beverages, sweetened plant-based drinks and bread products were the most penalized categories by the revision of Nutri-Score while low-sugar flavoured waters, fruit and legume preparations were the least affected.

Conclusion:
These results indicate that the update of the Nutri-Score reinforces its coherence with the NOVA classification, even though both systems measure two distinct health dimensions at the food level.