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The science behind the ratings

Every recipe has two ratings. Here is exactly how we work them out.

Every bite has a story. We make it easy to read.

Every food and recipe in Ecobite is assessed on its environmental impacts and on its nutrients, and summed up in two simple ratings: a nutrition rating and a footprint rating. They're built on trusted, widely used scoring methods, so you don't need a science degree to use them.

Find what fits, faster

Filter recipes by the ratings that matter most to you, and find tasty, fulfilling meals in moments, without any of the guesswork.

No compromise

Health and footprint, shown side by side, so you can weigh both at a glance without giving up the food you love.

Dig deeper

Feeling curious? Every rating opens up into the detail behind it, from climate, land and water to the nutrients on your plate.

Our data

Footprint data

Where your food comes from. Every food has a journey behind it: grown on a farm, then processed, packed, transported and sold, before it reaches your kitchen. Each stage leaves its mark on the planet, and the footprint adds them all up.

The figures come from Agribalyse, the public reference database for the environmental impact of food, developed by the French environment agency ADEME and research institute INRAE. It covers thousands of foods and is made for the French market. We use it for every ingredient in every recipe, and add up the impacts per portion.

  1. Farming
  2. Processing
  3. Packaging
  4. Transport
  5. Retail
  6. Your kitchen

The six stages Agribalyse follows, from the farm to your fork

Nutrition data

What your food is made of. Once it's on your plate, what matters is what's inside: energy, protein, fibre, sugars, fat and salt.

The figures come from FoodData Central, the public nutrient database of the US Department of Agriculture (USDA). We use it, with some adjustments of our own, for every ingredient in every recipe, and add up the nutrients per 100 grams.

  • Energy
  • Protein
  • Fibre
  • Sugars
  • Fat
  • Salt

Six of the nutrients we keep for every ingredient

What we measure

Four indicators, one clear picture

Climate matters a great deal, but it isn't the only way our food touches the planet. That's why every footprint rating looks at more than climate alone. These are four of the main impacts, the ones the app shows you.

Climate change

The greenhouse gases released as the food is grown, made and brought to you, measured in kg CO₂ equivalent (CO₂e).

Land use

How much farmland it takes to grow the food, and how that farming affects the health of the soil.

Water use

The fresh water the food needs, weighted by how precious water is in the places where it's grown.

Nutrient pollution

Nutrients, mostly from fertilisers, that wash into rivers, lakes and seas and upset the life in them. Scientists call it eutrophication.

Climate change

Greenhouse gases from farming trap heat in the atmosphere and cause extreme weather.

Eutrophication

Plant nutrients, mostly from fertilisers, wash into water bodies and upset the life in them.

Land use

Land is taken up to produce food and animal feed, and that farming can affect the health of the soil.

Water use

Foods need fresh water, this is weighted by how precious water is in the place where it's grown.

Footprint rating

From many impacts to one label

We combine the impacts with the European Commission's Product Environmental Footprint (PEF) method, which weighs each one by how much it matters. The combined result is then turned into one of five levels, from a very low to a very high footprint, with a points system.

The result is measured in PEF points (millipoints, mPt) per kilo of food. A recipe with up to 0.27 mPt per kilo has a very low footprint, up to 0.43 a low one, up to 0.74 medium and up to 1.51 high. Anything above 1.51 mPt per kilo has a very high footprint. Drinks have their own, stricter limits.

  1. 1
    Ingredient data

    The life cycle impact of every ingredient, per kilo, from Agribalyse

  2. 2
    Per portion

    Added up for the amounts in your recipe, peel, shells and all, because they were grown and transported too

  3. 3
    Weighted with PEF

    All the impacts the method covers, brought together into one score

  4. 4
    Five levels

    The footprint label you see in the app

  • Very Low F o o t p r i n t
  • Low F o o t p r i n t
  • Medium F o o t p r i n t
  • High F o o t p r i n t
  • Very High F o o t p r i n t

All five footprint labels, from best to worst

Footprint rating

From many impacts to one label

We combine the impacts with the European Commission's Product Environmental Footprint (PEF) method, which weighs each one by how much it matters. The combined result is then turned into one of five levels, from a very low to a very high footprint, with a points system.

The result is measured in PEF points (millipoints, mPt) per kilo of food, and each of the five levels has its own limit, shown under its label. Drinks have their own, stricter limits.

  1. 1
    Ingredient data

    The life cycle impact of every ingredient, per kilo, from Agribalyse

  2. 2
    Per portion

    Added up for the amounts in your recipe, peel, shells and all, because they were grown and transported too

  3. 3
    Weighted with PEF

    All the impacts the method covers, brought together into one score

  4. 4
    Five levels

    The footprint label you see in the app

  • Very Low F o o t p r i n t ≤ 0.27
  • Low F o o t p r i n t ≤ 0.43
  • Medium F o o t p r i n t ≤ 0.74
  • High F o o t p r i n t ≤ 1.51
  • Very High F o o t p r i n t > 1.51

The five levels and their limits, in mPt per kilo

Nutrition rating

Nutrition rating for food and drinks

Ecobite's nutrition rating is inspired by Nutri-Score, the front-of-pack label used across Europe, which rates the nutritional quality of food and drinks from A to E.

For every 100 grams of a recipe, we count points in a similar way. A recipe loses points for energy, sugars, saturated fat and salt, and gains points for fibre, for protein and for the share of vegetables, fruit, pulses and nuts in its ingredients. Protein only counts in full when a recipe isn't already high in the nutrients to limit. The balance of those points gives one of five levels, from a very high to a very low nutrition rating.

  • Nutrition Rating V e r y H i g h
  • Nutrition Rating H i g h
  • Nutrition Rating M e d i u m
  • Nutrition Rating L o w
  • Nutrition Rating V e r y L o w

All five nutrition labels, from best to worst

Nutrition rating

Nutrition rating for food and drinks

Ecobite's nutrition rating is inspired by Nutri-Score, the front-of-pack label used across Europe, which rates the nutritional quality of food and drinks from A to E.

For every 100 grams of a recipe, we count points in a similar way: points against for some nutrients, points in favour for others. Protein only counts in full when a recipe isn't already high in the nutrients to limit.

To keep the app functional and not reward drinking alcohol, alcoholic drinks always get the lowest level, a very low nutrition rating.

  1. 1
    Per 100 grams

    The nutrients in the parts you actually eat, from FoodData Central

  2. 2
    Points against

    For energy, sugars, saturated fat and salt

  3. 3
    Points in favour

    For fibre, protein, and the share of vegetables, fruit, pulses and nuts

  4. 4
    Five levels

    Points in favour minus points against: the balance gives the nutrition rating you see in the app

  • Nutrition Rating V e r y H i g h ≥ 2
  • Nutrition Rating H i g h ≥ −1
  • Nutrition Rating M e d i u m ≥ −9
  • Nutrition Rating L o w ≥ −18
  • Nutrition Rating V e r y L o w < −18

The five levels and their limits, in points per 100 g

For example

Chilli Tofu, from ingredients to two labels

Tofu, peppers, onions, garlic and a few sauces. Added up for every 100 grams, the recipe comes to:

Climate
0.08 kg CO₂e
Nutrient pollution
0.48 g nitrogen
Land
0.07 m²
Water
120 litres

Footprint

Very Low F o o t p r i n t
  • 0.08 kg0.08
    kg    CO2 eq
    emissions
  • 0.48 g0.48
    grams    N eq
    emissions
  • 0.07 m20.07
    m2    Land use
    for 1 year
  • 120 l120
    litres    Water
    use eq

Nutrition

Nutrition Rating V e r y H i g h
  • 84kcal84
    kcal    Energy
  • 0.71g0.71
    grams    Saturated
    fat
  • 4.8g4.8
    grams    Protein
  • 0.59g0.59
    grams    Salt

Weighed together with the other impacts the method covers, that makes a very low footprint. And its nutrients give it a very high nutrition rating.

See the recipe in the app
Very Low F o o t p r i n t Nutrition Rating V e r y H i g h

References

Sources

Scientific sources

  1. Source: ADEME, AGRIBALYSE v3.1.1 (2023), the French environmental database for food
  2. Environmental Footprint methods (European Commission)
  3. Nutri-Score (Santé publique France)
  4. FoodData Central (USDA)
  5. Poore, J. and Nemecek, T. (2018). Reducing food's environmental impacts through producers and consumers. Science 360, 987–992

Further reading

  1. What makes food sustainable?
  2. The CO₂e of 1,500 foods
  3. Two foods side by side

What ratings enable

What the ratings do for you

Find what fits, faster

Filter recipes by the ratings that matter most to you, and find tasty, fulfilling meals in moments, without any of the guesswork.

No compromise

Health and footprint, shown side by side, so you can weigh both at a glance without giving up the food you love.

Dig deeper

Feeling curious? Every rating opens up into the detail behind it, from climate, land and water to the nutrients on your plate.

Get the app

See the ratings for yourself

Open Ecobite in your browser and let the ratings guide you, meal by meal, in your own kitchen.

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Coming soon to theApp Store Coming soon toGoogle Play
Coming soon Our iPhone and Android apps are still in the oven. Not long now!
orStart cookingTry it now at ecobite.io