Yuka vs. the Official Nutri-Score: Why the Two Scores Don't Agree

🥗 Radish · 7 min

A yogurt carries a Nutri-Score C on the package, but Yuka gives it 70/100 in green. Another product does the reverse. It's not a bug, and neither app is wrong: they're running two different calculations that don't measure exactly the same thing. Here's how each one works, with official sources.

The Nutri-Score: one regulatory logo, one public formula

The Nutri-Score (the A-E logo you see on packaging) is calculated using a single, public formula, defined by an international scientific committee bringing together France, Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands, Spain, Switzerland, and Luxembourg. In France, this calculation is enacted into law by ministerial decree — most recently the decree of March 14, 2025, which updated the scoring scale (see our breakdown of the new calculation).

The formula only accounts for nutritional criteria per 100g or 100mL of product: energy, sugars, saturated fat, and salt on one side (unfavorable), protein, fiber, and share of fruit/vegetables/legumes on the other (favorable). It does not look at additives, production method (organic or not), or how processed a product is. This is a deliberate design choice by the scientific committee: stay strictly nutritional so the letter grade stays comparable within a given food category.

The Yuka score: a proprietary blend of three components, one of which reuses the Nutri-Score

Yuka calculates its own score out of 100, combining three components — per the methodology Yuka itself publishes on its help center:

60% nutritional quality — calculated using the Nutri-Score method (same criteria: energy, sugars, saturated fat, salt, protein, fiber, fruit/vegetables).
30% additives — a scoring system Yuka built itself, penalizing additives it considers risky based on scientific literature it selects; an additive rated "high risk" caps the overall score at 49/100, regardless of the rest of the score.
10% organic status — a bonus based on whether the product carries an organic label.

In other words: the Yuka score includes a version of the Nutri-Score inside its own calculation, then adds two criteria the official Nutri-Score doesn't evaluate at all. That's why a product can rank well on one system and worse on the other, without either one being "wrong" — they're answering different questions.

Why a product can carry a C on the label but rank "good" on Yuka (or the reverse)

Two scenarios explain most of the discrepancies people notice:

A product with an average nutritional profile (Nutri-Score C or D) but no risky additive and an organic label can see its Yuka score climb, because the 30% additives and 10% organic components offset part of the 60% nutritional weight.
A product with a good nutritional profile (Nutri-Score A or B) but containing an additive Yuka rates as high risk gets capped at 49/100 — regardless of its nutritional score — while the official Nutri-Score doesn't move at all, since it never factors in additives.

This second case is the most common source of user confusion, because the gap in how additives are weighted (0% on the official side, 30% on Yuka's side) is the single biggest structural difference between the two methods.

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Two tools, two jobs — neither one is "wrong"

The official Nutri-Score is designed to compare products with each other, within the same category, using strictly nutritional criteria validated by a scientific committee and enacted into law. The Yuka score is a proprietary decision-support tool built by a private company, which chooses to add its own weighting for additives and organic status — a defensible editorial choice, but not the same reference framework as the regulatory logo.

Neither one is more "true" than the other: the Nutri-Score answers "what is this product's nutritional profile?", while the Yuka score answers "does this product match my criteria (nutrition + additives + organic)?". Two different questions, each with a consistent answer within its own scope.

What Radish shows

In Radish, the Nutri-Score letter shown on every food item is the official grade, calculated using the revised 2022-2023 regulatory scale (decree of March 14, 2025), based on official nutritional data (CIQUAL/USDA) — not a recalculated in-house score. Radish doesn't offer an additives or organic score: if that dimension matters to you when choosing between products on a shelf, Yuka remains useful for that. We break down where each app is most useful in our Radish vs Yuka comparison.

General information, not medical or legal advice. Accurate as of July 27, 2026.

Frequently asked questions

Why don't Yuka and the Nutri-Score always agree on a product?

Because they're two different calculations. The official Nutri-Score only evaluates nutritional profile (energy, sugars, saturated fat, salt, protein, fiber, fruit/vegetables). The Yuka score adds two criteria the Nutri-Score doesn't consider on top of that same nutritional base (60% of its score): additives (30%) and organic status (10%).

Does the Yuka score replace the official Nutri-Score?

No, that's not its purpose. The Yuka score is a proprietary, complementary score that incorporates a version of the Nutri-Score calculation into its nutritional component but adds its own weighting for additives and organic status.

Which score should I trust?

Both are consistent within their own scope. The official Nutri-Score is meant to compare the nutritional profile of similar products; the Yuka score is meant to help you decide based on broader criteria (nutrition + additives + organic) that Yuka itself defines.

Does Radish use the Yuka score or the official Nutri-Score?

The official Nutri-Score. Radish displays the regulatory A-E letter grade, calculated with the revised 2022-2023 scale, based on official CIQUAL/USDA nutritional data.

Bottom line: the Nutri-Score and the Yuka score measure two different things. The former is the regulatory logo, strictly nutritional. The latter adds additives and organic status with its own weighting. Neither is wrong — Radish displays the official letter grade, for free and offline.

General information, not medical or legal advice.

🔎 Verified methodology & sources. Every nutritional figure in this article is cross-checked against official sources (ANSES, EFSA, WHO, CIQUAL/USDA, Santé publique France, Nutri-Score scientific committee reports, Yuka's official help center), and health topics are reviewed before publication per our internal standard. See our full methodology →