MoveNOVA classification and the Food Score
Last updated:
The NOVA classification was created by Brazilian researchers and is used by dietary guidelines in several countries. Instead of looking only at calories or nutrients, it looks at how much a food was processed before reaching your table.
The four groups
- Group 1 — unprocessed or minimally processed: fruit, vegetables, eggs, meat, rice, beans, milk.
- Group 2 — culinary ingredients: oil, sugar, salt, butter.
- Group 3 — processed: bakery bread, cheeses, canned vegetables, canned fish.
- Group 4 — ultra-processed: sodas, chips, filled cookies, cold cuts, ready meals, nuggets.
What the Food Score shows
The app classifies each item of your purchases using the catalogue (Open Food Facts, USDA and other public databases) and calculates how much of your cart, by value, is group 1 and how much is group 4. You see the ring by group, what weighed most, what helped, and possible swaps (for example, filled cookies for fruit). The weekly history shows whether things are improving.
What it is not
It is not a diagnosis or a diet. The Score is a mirror of your shopping, built with general rules about foods, and does not replace a doctor or a dietitian. Use it as a conversation with yourself: "can I swap one thing this week?".