Last updated on 7-8-2025 by Elise Grimm
Why do we study the Nutri-Score and food labels?
- The Nutri-Score is a front-of-pack labeling system that provides consumers with an overview of a food product’s nutritional value.
- The Nutri-Score aims to guide consumers in making healthy food choices through a simple and understandable five-colour and letter label that grades a product from green or A (most healthy) to red or E (least healthy).
- Looking into the population’s usage and perception of the Nutri-Score provides insight into the food label’s influence on our food consumption choices.
How do we study it?
- Adult participants and parents of 3 to 9 year old children were asked about their perceived impact of food labels, awareness, and usage of Nutri-Score. These were assessed using the following questions:
- (1) ‘How often have you seen the Nutri-Score label in shops?’
- (2) ‘To what extent do food labels (e.g. Nutri-Score) influence what you eat?’
- (3) ‘How often do you use the Nutri-Score label to help you decide which food products to buy?
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The questions on the frequency at which the Nutri-Score label was seen in shops and used in food purchases could be answered by ‘never’, ‘rarely’, ‘sometimes’, ‘often’, and ‘always’. The question on the extent by which food labels (e.g. Nutri-Score) influence what an individual eats had the options ‘not at all’, ‘a little’, ‘moderately’, ‘often’, and ‘always’.
Key results
Of the adult Belgian population 65% often or always saw the Nutri-Score labels in shops.
Nearly three in ten individuals have never been influenced in their food choices by the Nutri-Score.
Around 39% of the adult population have never used the Nutri- Score in deciding their food purchases.
Nutri- Score and food labels
Distribution of the adult population aged 18 years and above according to the extent of use of the Nutri-Score and food labels, Belgium, 2022-2023
- Crude = results weighted for season, age, sex, and socioeconomic status.
- The categories for the frequency at which the Nutri-Score was seen in shops and used in food purchases are ‘never’, ‘rarely’, ‘sometimes’, ‘often’, and ‘always’. For ease of presentation, the levels for these variables are presented here as ‘not at all’, ‘a little’, ‘moderately’, ‘often’, and ‘always’.
- Overall, 65% of the adult population in Belgium often or always saw the Nutri-Score label in shops.
- For the majority of adults, food labels such as the Nutri-Score have little to no influence on eating practices (57%) and purchasing decisions (57%).
Distribution of the adult population aged 18 years and above according to the frequency the Nutri-Score label was seen in shops, by education level, Belgium, 2022-2023
- Crude = results weighted for season, age, sex, and socioeconomic status.
- The education level is calculated at the household level by considering the highest diploma obtained by: (i) the respondent or their partner for adults (aged 18 years and above), or (ii) the father and mother (or carer, if applicable) for children and adolescents (aged 3 to 17 years). However, for simplicity, we refer to the education level of individuals rather than the education level of their households.
- Based on education level, there is an increasing trend in the proportion of individuals who have often or always seen Nutri-Score labels in shops. The proportion increases from 55% among those with low education to 74% for individuals with middle education and 76% for those with high education level.
- Those with low levels of education are more likely to have never, rarely, or sometimes seen Nutri-score labels in shops.
Distribution of the adult population aged 18 years and above according to the frequency the Nutri-Score label was seen in shops, by age categories, Belgium, 2022-2023
- Crude = results weighted for season, age, sex, and socioeconomic status.
- Nutri-Score labels were seen often or always by the majority of adults in all age groups.
- Parents of 3 to 9 year olds are the most likely to have often or always seen the Nutri-Score (74%). In particular, 21% of them report always seeing it when shopping.
- One older adult in five has never seen the Nutri-Score (19%). The proportion is lower than 7% in other age groups.
Distribution of the adult population aged 18 years and above according to the frequency the Nutri-Score label was seen in shops, by region, Belgium, 2022-2023
- Crude = results weighted for season, age, sex and socioeconomic status.
- The proportion of individuals who have often or always seen the Nutri-Score label in shops is consistently high across regions, with Flanders and Wallonia having a proportion of 65% and 66%, respectively.
- In Brussels, 14% of adults report that they never saw the Nutri-Score label in shops, which is higher than in Flanders and Wallonia.
Distribution of the adult population aged 18 years and above according to the extent food labels (e.g. Nutri-Score) influence what they eat, by education level, Belgium, 2022-2023.
- Crude = results weighted for season, age, sex, and socioeconomic status.
- The education level is calculated at the household level by considering the highest diploma obtained by: (i) the respondent or their partner for adults (aged 18 years and above), or (ii) the father and mother (or carer, if applicable) for children and adolescents (aged 3 to 17 years). However, for simplicity, we refer to the education level of individuals rather than the education level of their households.
- Low-educated groups are more likely not to be influenced on what they eat by food labels (43%) and not to use the Nutri-Score when shopping for food (47%).
- The higher the education, the more likely it is that adults are often or always influenced on what they eat by food labels or use the Nutri-Score when shopping for food.
Distribution of the adult population aged 18 years and above according to the frequency at which the Nutri-Score is used in deciding food purchases, by education level, Belgium, 2022-2023
- Crude = results weighted for season, age, sex, and socioeconomic status.
- The education level is calculated at the household level by considering the highest diploma obtained by: (i) the respondent or their partner for adults (aged 18 years and above), or (ii) the father and mother (or carer, if applicable) for children and adolescents (aged 3 to 17 years). However, for simplicity, we refer to the education level of individuals rather than the education level of their households.
- The proportion of individuals who never use the Nutri-Score label when buying food is 47% among those with a low level of education, 32% among those with a medium level of education and 31% among those with a high level of education.
- There is an increasing trend based on educational level among those who are sometimes and often influenced by the Nutri-Score in their food purchases.
- Individuals with the highest level of education are more likely to use the Nutri-Score in deciding what food products to buy.
Distribution of the adult population aged 18 years and above according to the extent food labels (e.g. Nutri-Score) influence what they eat, by age categories, Belgium, 2022-2023
- Crude = results weighted for season, age, sex, and socioeconomic status.
- There are no major age differences in the influence of food labels or in the use of the Nutri-Score between the different groups of adults.
- Older adults are more likely not to be influenced by food labels and not to use the Nutri-Score compared to other age groups.
Distribution of the adult population aged 18 years and above according to the frequency at which the Nutri-Score is used in deciding food purchases, by age categories, Belgium, 2022-2023
- Crude = results weighted for season, age, sex, and socioeconomic status.
- The education level is calculated at the household level by considering the highest diploma obtained by: (i) the respondents or their partner for adults (aged 18 years and above), or (ii) the father and mother (or carer, if applicable) for children and adolescents (aged 3 to 17 years). However, for simplicity, we refer to the education level of individuals rather than the education level of their households.
- The proportion of individuals who never use the Nutri-Score when buying food ranges from 34% to 39% among parents of children, young adults and middle-aged adults, while it rises to 48% among people aged 65 and above.
- In comparison, the proportion of the adult population who always uses the Nutri-Score in their food purchases is consistently low across age groups.
Distribution of the adult population aged 18 years and above according to the extent food labels (e.g. Nutri-Score) influence what they eat, by region, Belgium, 2022-2023
- Crude = results weighted for season, age, sex, and socioeconomic status.
- The proportion of individuals who are not influenced by food labels is higher in Wallonia (40%) and Brussels (37%) than in Flanders (31%). Similar results are observed for the use of the Nutri-Score.
- The proportion of those who often or always use the Nutri-Score is the highest in Brussels, and the lowest in Wallonia.
Distribution of the adult population aged 18 years and above according to the frequency at which the Nutri-Score label is used in deciding food purchases, by region, Belgium, 2022-2023
- Crude = results weighted for season, age, sex, and socioeconomic status.
- The proportion of individuals who have never used the Nutri-Score labels in deciding their food purchases is high across all regions.
Please cite this page as: Sciensano. Determinants of food choice: Nutri-Score and food labels, Food Consumption Survey 2022-2023, June 2024, Brussels, Belgium, https://www.sciensano.be/en/results-food-consumption-survey-2022-2023/determinants-food-choice/nutri-score-and-food-labels