The nutrition score is a food rating system powered by Tufts University nutrition research and is currently available for select items.

When you’re shopping on Instacart, you can quickly check how nutritious an item is by looking at its nutrition score. It’s shown as a 1–10 rating, along with a label like Excellent, Good, or Fair to help you understand it at a glance.

You can see the nutrition score on an eligible item’s product page—

  1. Under the item, look for the Nutrition section with a score out of 10.
  2. Tap or click Show more.

Here you’ll see—

  • A quick summary of what affects the score
  • Key positive and negative nutritional factors
  • How the item compares to similar products

Nutrition scores and summaries on Instacart are powered by AI, based on Tufts University’s scoring system. The results are expected to be accurate, but may make mistakes. So please double check information that is especially important to you. It is currently available for select items.

Frequently asked questions

What’s the highest score an item can receive?

The highest score is 10. As Tufts describes it, the higher the score, the more healthful an item is.

What’s the lowest score an item can receive?

The lowest score is 1.

What increases the score?

Food that is—

  • Rich in fruits, vegetables, nuts, beans, whole grains, yogurts, seafoods, and plant oils
  • Packed with fiber, protein, vitamins, and minerals
  • High in healthy unsaturated fats
  • Minimally processed or naturally fermented

What decreases the score?

Food that—

  • Contains refined carbohydrates
  • Contains red and processed meats
  • Is high in added sugar, refined carbohydrates, sodium, or saturated fat
  • Contains artificial sweeteners, colors or flavors, or nitrites
  • Is ultra-processed or deep fried

What contributes to the score?

There are 9 nutrition domains that contribute to the score—

  • Additives
  • Fiber & protein
  • Food-based ingredients
  • Minerals
  • Nutrient ratios
  • Phytochemicals
  • Processing
  • Specific lipids
  • Vitamins

How is the score calculated?

For each item, 54 individual nutrition attributes are assessed and grouped into one of the 9 nutrition domains. Positive attributes receive a score from 0 to 10. Negative attributes receive a score from -10 to 0. And attribute ratios, which could range from positive to negative, receive a score from -10 to 10.

Each of the 9 nutrition domains receive a score which is calculated as the average of their individual attribute scores (or the sum of the individual attribute scores in the case of the “food-based ingredients” domain).

Then the 9 domain scores are added up to get the final score for each food item.

Does every item on Instacart have a score?

No, but thousands of items do have a score and Instacart is working with Tufts University to add more items each week.

How can I compare scores on different items?

You can view an individual item’s score, as well as the average score for similar items. This lets you see how an item compares to similar ones.

Where can I learn more about nutrition scores?

You can visit the Tufts University Food Compass site to learn more.