What is ultra-processed food? NOVA groups explained

"Ultra-processed" is everywhere in food talk now, but the term has a specific meaning. It comes from a classification called NOVA. Here is what NOVA says, where it is debated, and how to see a product's group.

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Where the term comes from

NOVA is a way of sorting foods by how much industrial processing they go through, not by how much sugar or salt they contain. It was developed by researchers at the University of São Paulo in Brazil. Ultra-processed food is its fourth group.

The four NOVA groups

Group	What it means	Examples
1	Unprocessed or minimally processed foods	Fresh fruit and vegetables, eggs, plain milk, dried beans, plain nuts, fresh meat
2	Processed culinary ingredients	Oils, butter, sugar, salt and honey, used in home cooking
3	Processed foods	Canned vegetables, simple breads, cheeses, salted nuts
4	Ultra-processed foods	Many packaged snacks, soft drinks, instant noodles, reconstituted meat products, many ready meals

The examples are typical, not a rule. A single product type can sit in different groups depending on what is in it.

What makes a food "ultra-processed"

In NOVA, ultra-processed foods are industrial formulations made mostly from substances extracted or derived from foods, plus additives. They often contain ingredients you would not normally find in a home kitchen. Common signs on a label include:

modified starches, maltodextrin, protein isolates, hydrolyzed protein
hydrogenated or interesterified fats
high-fructose corn syrup or glucose-fructose syrup
flavor enhancers, "flavorings" and sweeteners
emulsifiers, colors and other cosmetic additives

A long ingredient list is a hint, but not proof. The classification looks at what the ingredients are and how the product is made.

NOVA is not a nutrition score

NOVA describes processing. It says nothing about calories, sugar, salt or vitamins. Nutri-Score is a different system: a grade from A to E based on a product's nutrition table. The two can disagree. A product can earn a good Nutri-Score and still be ultra-processed, while a traditional food such as cheese is NOVA 3 and can still grade poorly because of its salt or saturated fat.

That is why it helps to look at both.

What is debated

Researchers do not all agree on how useful NOVA is for choosing food. Some argue that its fourth group lumps together very different products, from a sugary cereal to a wholemeal packaged bread. Others find it a helpful way to describe how food is made. It is a description of a product, not a verdict on it, and it does not tell you what to eat.

If you are interested in the topic, the Open Food Facts page on NOVA explains the groups in more detail.

Fineprint shows facts and checks them against rules you choose. It is not medical, allergy or dietary advice. Always read the pack.

Doing it with Fineprint

Fineprint shows the NOVA group of a product, taken from Open Food Facts, which assigns it from the ingredient list. You can also add an Ultra-processed rule to flag NOVA 4 products.

Open the Scan tab and point the camera at a barcode. You can also type the number or search by name in the Search tab.
On the product screen, look at the Nutri-Score and Processing tiles. Processing shows the NOVA group from 1 to 4, with a short caption such as "Ultra-processed food".
To flag NOVA 4 products automatically, open My rules and switch on Ultra-processed.
No barcode match? Tap Read a label and photograph the ingredient list. With no NOVA group on file, Fineprint looks for typical marker ingredients such as modified starch or hydrogenated fat, and shows the result as an estimate.
Tap Compare with another product on a product screen to see two products side by side. Comparing is part of Pro.

Fineprint shows the group as Open Food Facts gives it. If it looks wrong, you can correct the product on openfoodfacts.org, and the change shows up for everyone. Read how NOVA and Nutri-Score appear in the app on the help page.

Fineprint scans a barcode and shows Nutri-Score, NOVA group, additives and allergens, and checks them against rules you choose. Free scanning with no account or ads; Pro adds all 39 rules, family profiles and comparing two products.