FSG Labels Defined

We have used a number of Food & Ingredient Labels to help you make informed choices

Here are the definitions for these labels used. Most of these are sourced from leading Food universities, academia and websites.

1. NutriScore

• The Nutri-Score is a logo that shows the nutritional quality of food products with A to E grades. With the NutriScore, products can be easily and quickly compared. Open Food Facts has started computing Nutri-Score in 2014 on its pioneer mobile app and website, while it was only a research paper, and has accompanied its growth from the “5 color score” to the “Nutri-Score” you see in supermarkets today. 
• However, the Nutri-Score is not affixed to all products and OpenFoodFacts allows you to have this information by scanning the product. Public Health France has supported OpenFoodFacts since 2018 to facilitate consumer information. For more on the history of Open Food Facts and the Nutri-Score, you can read Open Food Facts’ dedicated page on the topic. 
• Nutri-Score has been proposed by EREN, a French public nutrition research team, led by Professor Serge Hercberg. It is based on the nutrition score created by the Food Standards Agency in the UK.
• The principle of simplified labeling on the front of packaging was officially presented for the first time in the 2013 report “Proposals for a new impetus to the French public health nutrition policy in the framework of the National Health Strategy” (pdf). In it, Professor Serge Hercberg advocates for the adoption of logo with a system of grades from A to E that would be displayed on the front of food products to allow to easily compare the nutritional quality of products.

2. Nova groups for food processing

• In the report “The UN Decade of Nutrition, the NOVA food classification and the trouble with ultra-processing” (pdf, pdf), the authors advocate for the adoption of a system of grades from 1 to 4 to allow to simply compare the degree of processing of products. Research suggests a correlation between the cosumption of ultra-transformed foods and an increased risk of developing a cancer.

  Some countries use the NOVA groups for their dietary guidelines or goals, for instance:

  • Brazil’s dietary guidelines recommend to limit consumption of processed food and avoid ultra-processed food.
  • France’s public health nutritional policy goals for 2018-2022 aims to reduce consumption of group 4 ultra-processed foods by 20%.

1. Group 1. Unprocessed or minimally processed foods
   • Unprocessed (or natural) foods are edible parts of plants (seeds, fruits, leaves, stems, roots) or of animals (muscle, offal, eggs, milk), and also fungi, algae and water, after separation from nature.
   • Minimally processed foods are natural foods altered by processes that include removal of inedible or unwanted parts, and drying, crushing, grinding, fractioning, filtering, roasting, boiling, non-alcoholic fermentation, pasteurization, refrigeration, chilling, freezing, placing in containers and vacuum-packaging. These processes are designed to preserve natural foods, to make them suitable for storage, or to make them safe or edible or more pleasant to consume. Many unprocessed or minimally processed foods are prepared and cooked at home or in restaurant kitchens in combination with processed culinary ingredients as dishes or meals.
2. Group 2. Processed culinary ingredients
   • Processed culinary ingredients, such as oils, butter, sugar and salt, are substances derived from Group 1 foods or from nature by processes that include pressing, refining, grinding, milling and drying. The purpose of such processes is to make durable products that are suitable for use in home and restaurant kitchens to prepare, season and cook Group 1 foods and to make with them varied and enjoyable hand-made dishes and meals, such as stews, soups and broths, salads, breads, preserves, drinks and desserts.
   • They are not meant to be consumed by themselves, and are normally used in combination with Group 1 foods to make freshly prepared drinks, dishes and meals.
3. Group 3. Processed foods
   • Processed foods, such as bottled vegetables, canned fish, fruits in syrup, cheeses and freshly made breads, are made essentially by adding salt, oil, sugar or other substances from Group 2 to Group 1 foods.
   • Processes include various preservation or cooking methods, and, in the case of breads and cheese, non-alcoholic fermentation. Most processed foods have two or three ingredients, and are recognizable as modified versions of Group 1 foods. They are edible by themselves or, more usually, in combination with other foods. The purpose of processing here is to increase the durability of Group 1 foods, or to modify or enhance their sensory qualities.
4. Group 4. Ultra-processed foods:
   • Ultra-processed foods, such as soft drinks, sweet or savoury packaged snacks, reconstituted meat products and pre-prepared frozen dishes, are not modified foods but formulations made mostly or entirely from substances derived from foods and additives, with little if any intact Group 1 food.
   • Ingredients of these formulations usually include those also used in processed foods, such as sugars, oils, fats or salt. But ultra-processed products also include other sources of energy and nutrients not normally used in culinary preparations. Some of these are directly extracted from foods, such as casein, lactose, whey and gluten.
   • Many are derived from further processing of food constituents, such as hydrogenated or interesterified oils, hydrolysed proteins, soya protein isolate, maltodextrin, invert sugar and high-fructose corn syrup.
   • Additives in ultra-processed foods include some also used in processed foods, such as preservatives, antioxidants and stabilizers. Classes of additives found only in ultra-processed products include those used to imitate or enhance the sensory qualities of foods or to disguise unpalatable aspects of the final product. These additives include dyes and other colours, colour stabilizers; flavours, flavour enhancers, non-sugar sweeteners; and processing aids such as carbonating, firming, bulking and anti-bulking, de-foaming, anti-caking and glazing agents, emulsifiers, sequestrants and humectants.
   • A multitude of sequences of processes is used to combine the usually many ingredients and to create the final product (hence ‘ultra-processed’). The processes include several with no domestic equivalents, such as hydrogenation and hydrolysation, extrusion and moulding, and pre-processing for frying.
   • The overall purpose of ultra-processing is to create branded, convenient (durable, ready to consume), attractive (hyper-palatable) and highly profitable (low-cost ingredients) food products designed to displace all other food groups. Ultra-processed food products are usually packaged attractively and marketed intensively.

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3. Eco-Score: the environmental impact of food products

• The Eco-Score is an environmental score (ecoscore) from A to E which makes it easy to compare the impact of food products on the environment.

• Why an environmental score? More and more consumers are concerned about the impact of their food not only on their health, but also on the health of our planet. Thanks to the Nutri-Score, it is now very easy to take into account the nutritional quality of products when purchasing, but it is very difficult if not impossible to compare their environmental footprint.

• It is urgent to provide consumers with clear information about this environmental footprint, so that they can easily and quickly compare it for several products. This is what the Eco-Score environmental grade allows.

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