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How processed the food is

This explains what the NOVA steps mean and shows which less processed products the shopping list can suggest.
NOVA puts food into four steps based on how much it has been processed. The step does not say anything about how nutritious the food is. Open Food Facts decides the step for each product.
  1. Step 1 includes foods that are unprocessed or only slightly processed, like milk or vegetables.
  2. Step 2 covers ingredients you use in cooking, such as salt or oil.
  3. Step 3 is for foods with added salt or sugar, like bread or cheese.
  4. Step 4 includes heavily processed foods with ingredients you would not have in your kitchen, such as flavouring or glucose syrup.

Why a product got its step

If a product on your shopping list is at step 3 or 4, you will see its step listed. Open the product to read, in one sentence, what Bryti found on the product that puts it at that step.For step 4, this means the product has additives with an E number, like colouring or emulsifiers, or ingredients such as flavouring. For step 3, it means the product has added salt or sugar.
NotePreservatives and acids aren’t listed, because NOVA doesn’t count them. If the card says it can’t show why, Open Food Facts set the step without an ingredient list that Bryti could read.
The step gives you information about the product. It is not meant to judge your choices.

Less processed on the shopping list

If a product on your shopping list is heavily processed, Bryti will show up to three less processed options at step 1–3 under Less processed when you open it. Each option comes with a short explanation. If you choose one, Bryti will remember it for next time.Bryti never swaps between meat and plant foods, so for example, vegetable stock will not be swapped for chicken stock. If Bryti cannot find a replacement, the sheet will let you know.The plain version of a product always comes first, like raw chicken thighs before grilled ones.After that, products you have bought before are shown, followed by products available at your shops. Then, the same type of food is listed before other foods in the same group, and lower steps come before higher ones.
NoteThis works without receipts. What each shop stocks varies, so a product may not be on the shelf.
If Open Food Facts has not given a product a step, but the label lists only one ingredient and no additives, it will show one ingredient instead.
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