NOVA Food Classifier
Paste an ingredient list to get its NOVA group, from unprocessed to ultra-processed, with the emulsifiers, flavourings and other markers that decided it.
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About this toolWhat is the NOVA Food Classifier?
Paste the ingredient list from a food pack and this tool tells you which of the four NOVA groups it belongs to: unprocessed or minimally processed foods, processed culinary ingredients, processed foods, or ultra-processed foods. It shows the reason in a sentence, highlights any ingredient that marks a product as ultra-processed, and lists how it read every ingredient, so you can check its working against the label.
You can also type the per-100 g values for fat, saturates, sugars and salt from the nutrition table to see the UK traffic-light rating next to the NOVA group. The two answer different questions: NOVA describes how a food was made, the traffic lights describe what is in it. Everything runs in your browser and nothing you paste is sent anywhere.
- Classifies into NOVA groups 1 to 4 using the markers published by the NOVA authors in 2019
- Recognises more than 120 marker names, from maltodextrin to carnauba wax, in British and American spelling
- Reads E-numbers and INS numbers by their EU additive class, including suffixes like E150d and E160a(ii)
- Ignores allergen advice, "gluten-free" claims and percentages so they do not trigger false markers
- Shows how every ingredient was read, including sub-ingredients in brackets
- Optional UK traffic lights for fat, saturates, sugars and salt, for foods and drinks
Updated
How to use the NOVA Food Classifier
- Copy the ingredient list from the pack or the retailer's product page and paste it into the box. Keep the brackets and E-numbers; allergen advice and percentages are ignored.
- Read the NOVA group and the one-line reason. If it is group 4, the red chips show each marker and the words on the label that matched it.
- Check "How each ingredient was read" to see whether every ingredient was counted as a food, a culinary ingredient, an additive or a marker.
- Optionally choose food or drink and type the fat, saturates, sugars and salt per 100 g or 100 ml to add traffic-light ratings.
- Press Copy result to paste the classification into notes, or Copy link to share the same list with someone else.
Worked examples
Supermarket bread
Input
Wheat flour, water, salt, yeast
Output
Group 3, processed food
Flour is a minimally processed food and salt a culinary ingredient. Add an emulsifier such as E471 and the same loaf becomes group 4.
Cola
Input
Carbonated water, sugar, colour (caramel E150d), acid (phosphoric acid), natural flavourings including caffeine
Output
Group 4, ultra-processed: colour and flavouring
Sugar alone would make it a sweetened drink in group 3. The colour and flavourings are the markers; phosphoric acid is not.
Plain yoghurt
Input
Milk, live cultures
Output
Group 1, minimally processed
Fermenting milk with cultures is minimal processing in NOVA. A fruit yoghurt with flavouring or modified starch would be group 4.
Background and insight
NOVA was developed by Carlos Monteiro and colleagues at the Center for Epidemiological Research in Nutrition and Health (NUPENS) of the University of São Paulo. It sorts foods by the extent and purpose of industrial processing rather than by nutrients. Brazil built its 2014 national dietary guidelines on it, and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations published a report on using it in 2019. Most studies that link ultra-processed food to health outcomes use NOVA to decide what counts as ultra-processed.
The rule this tool applies comes from the NOVA authors' 2019 paper on how to identify ultra-processed foods (Monteiro et al., Public Health Nutrition). A product is ultra-processed if its ingredient list contains at least one marker: either a food substance rarely or never used in home kitchens, such as high-fructose corn syrup, maltodextrin, hydrogenated oil, protein isolate, whey or casein, or a class of additive that makes the product more palatable or appealing, such as flavourings, flavour enhancers, colours, emulsifiers, sweeteners, thickeners and gelling, glazing or foaming agents. Additives that only preserve a food, like salt, vinegar, citric acid or a preservative, appear in processed foods too and are not markers.
Without a marker, the classifier looks at what is left. Whole foods on their own are group 1. Oils, butter, sugar, honey, salt, starch and vinegar on their own are group 2. Whole foods with one of those culinary ingredients added, like bread from flour, water, salt and yeast, or chickpeas canned in salted water, are group 3. E-numbers are read by their EU functional class, so E471 counts as an emulsifier and E330 as an acid.
Common use cases
Comparing products on the shelf
Check whether a "high protein" or "plant-based" product is built from foods or from isolates and additives before you buy it.
Cutting down on ultra-processed food
Find out which of the things you eat most often are group 4 and look for group 1 to 3 swaps.
Teaching and coursework
Show students how the NOVA markers work on real labels, with every ingredient's role laid out.
Research and diet records
Get a first-pass NOVA group for the products in a food diary, then review the borderline ones by hand.
Tips and limitations
- The ingredient list is the evidence. Two products with the same name, like two loaves of bread or two hummus brands, can land in different groups.
- A single marker is enough for group 4 in NOVA. Pectin in jam, lecithin in chocolate and xanthan gum in a dressing all count, even in small amounts.
- Ultra-processed does not mean every product is equally unhealthy. Use the traffic lights or the nutrition table alongside the NOVA group.
- Fortified vitamins and minerals, preservatives, antioxidants and acids are not markers, so "with added vitamins" does not change the group.
- Labels do not show processes. Frying, extruding or reconstituting a food can make it ultra-processed in NOVA without any marker on the list, so treat group 1 to 3 results for packaged snacks with care.
- Unpackaged foods such as bakery bread or restaurant meals often have no list; ask for it, or classify the recipe instead.
Frequently asked questions
What is the NOVA food classification?
A system from the University of São Paulo that sorts foods into four groups by how much and why they were processed: unprocessed or minimally processed foods, processed culinary ingredients, processed foods, and ultra-processed foods. It does not score calories or nutrients.
How can I tell if a food is ultra-processed from the label?
Look for at least one ingredient you would not find in a home kitchen, such as maltodextrin, glucose syrup, hydrogenated oil or protein isolate, or an additive class that changes taste or look, such as flavouring, colour, emulsifier, sweetener or thickener. One is enough for NOVA group 4.
Why is my bread or jam in group 4?
Because the list contains a marker. Many sliced loaves contain emulsifiers such as E471 or E481, and many jams contain pectin, a gelling agent. Bread made only from flour, water, salt and yeast, or fruit cooked with sugar alone, stays in group 3.
Are preservatives a sign of ultra-processing?
Not on their own. NOVA allows additives that preserve the original food, such as preservatives, antioxidants, acids and stabilisers, in groups 1 to 3. Canned chickpeas with calcium chloride, or bacon cured with sodium nitrite, are group 3 if nothing else is added.
Is the NOVA group the same as how healthy a food is?
No. NOVA only describes processing. Olive oil and sugar are both group 2, and a diet drink can be low in sugar but ultra-processed. Studies link high intakes of ultra-processed food with worse health on average, but use the nutrition table too when comparing individual products.
Can this tool get the group wrong?
Yes, in a few situations. An ingredient list does not show processes such as frying or extrusion, some additives are not declared, and a few ingredients sit on the borderline. The tool shows which words it matched, so you can check its reading against the label.
How are alcoholic drinks classified in NOVA?
Drinks made by fermentation alone, such as beer, cider and wine, are processed foods in group 3. Distilled spirits such as whisky, gin, rum and vodka are ultra-processed in group 4. Ingredient lists rarely appear on alcohol, so classify these by type.
Is there an in-depth guide to the NOVA Food Classifier?
Yes. “NOVA Food Classification: How to Tell If a Food Is Ultra-Processed” covers the background, how it works, common pitfalls and worked examples. Read the full guide.
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