SimpleShelfThe short version
SimpleShelf puts the least-processed foods at the top. It looks at how processed a food is first, then how many additives it has, then how long its ingredient list is, and finally its Nutri-Score as a tie-breaker.
NOVA: how processed is it?
NOVA is a system created by food researchers that sorts foods into four groups based on how much processing they go through. It doesn't count calories. It asks, "how far is this from the original food?"
| Level | What it means | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Unprocessed or minimally processed. Whole foods, maybe washed, frozen, dried or pasteurized. | Fresh fruit, frozen peas, plain rice, eggs, milk, dry beans |
| 2 | Processed culinary ingredients. Things pulled from whole foods that you cook with. | Olive oil, butter, sugar, salt, flour |
| 3 | Processed foods. Whole foods with a few kitchen ingredients like salt, sugar or oil added. | Canned beans with salt, simple cheese, fresh-baked bread |
| 4 | Ultra-processed. Industrial recipes, often with ingredients you wouldn't find in a home kitchen (flavors, emulsifiers, sweeteners, colors). | Soda, most packaged snacks, candy, many cereals, instant noodles |
The “Only whole / lightly processed” filter shows just NOVA 1 and 2.
Nutri-Score: how's the nutrition?
Nutri-Score is a letter grade from A (best) to E (worst) used on packaging in Europe. It weighs the not-so-great stuff (calories, sugar, saturated fat, salt) against the good stuff (fiber, protein, fruits, vegetables, nuts). It's about nutrition, not processing, so an ultra-processed diet soda and a plain apple can both score well. That's why SimpleShelf uses it only as a tie-breaker.
Additives
Additives are things like preservatives, colors, thickeners and emulsifiers (often listed as E-numbers in Open Food Facts). Many are perfectly safe. We just count them: fewer additives usually means a simpler, closer-to-whole food. The “No additives” filter hides anything with at least one listed additive.
How SimpleShelf ranks items
- NOVA level, lowest first. Products with no NOVA info go to the bottom.
- Number of additives, fewest first.
- Number of ingredients, shortest list first.
- Nutri-Score, A before E, as the last tie-breaker.
When you scan a barcode, the “cleaner alternatives” are similar products (same kind of food) that score better, with ones at your chosen store shown first.
Where the data comes from
All product info (names, ingredients, NOVA, Nutri-Score, additives, photos) comes from Open Food Facts, a free, non-profit food database built by volunteers around the world. Product data is © Open Food Facts contributors under the Open Database License (ODbL); photos are under CC BY-SA.
Price estimates come from Open Prices, an Open Food Facts project where shoppers share prices from receipts and price tags (also ODbL). SimpleShelf shows the middle (median) of recent US prices and the date of the latest one.
Thank you to everyone who contributes to both projects. SimpleShelf wouldn't exist without them.
Limitations (please read)
- It's crowdsourced. Anyone can add or edit products, so some info is missing, out of date or wrong. Recipes change.
- Store lists aren't complete. A product shows up for a store when someone tagged it with that store. Your local shelf may differ.
- Prices are estimates. They're based on what other shoppers reported, sometimes from a different city or months ago.
- Not medical or allergy advice. Always read the actual label, especially for allergies.
- Scores are a guide, not a verdict. A NOVA 4 food isn't “bad” and a NOVA 1 food isn't automatically healthy for you.
Spot something wrong? Fix it for everyone in the Open Food Facts app, or tell us.