How Nestle sugar balls get a Nutri-Score A

When I saw an “A” on Nestle’s Nesquick cereal, I wanted to know how a product with 75% carbohydrates, including 22% of sugar, could be considered a healthy product. Let’s look at how the Nutri-Score of “A” is calculated and see how just 0.1g of sugar and 2mg of salt more would result in a D rating.

Nutritional Info

Let's look first at the nutritional information, as it is the basis for the Nutri-Score. The product box lists the amount per 100g, which is also the amount used by Nutri-Score. Serving size is not relevant, so please eat everything only in 100g increments.

Be aware that many label systems don't include fibre in the carbohydrates section, but some do. Though fibre is technically a carbohydrate, from a nutritional standpoint it makes sense to list separately. The body processes the non-fibre carbs differently than fibre.

When choosing what to eat, you should also look at the ingredients, though the Nutri-Score makes little use of them. The…