Home -> Nutrition by Nutriely -> Packaged Food Nutrition
Nutriely Data Algorithm
See what's really inside packaged food.
A label shows energy, fat, carbs, sugar, protein and salt, and sometimes fibre or a vitamin the maker wants to advertise. It doesn't show the iron, folate, magnesium or vitamin K inside. Nutriely estimates them from what the label does show: the ingredient list and the nutrition table.
On the label
Classic hummus, per 100 g
- Energy
- 223 kcal
- Fat
- 15.9 g
- of which saturates
- 1.6 g
- Carbohydrate
- 11.0 g
- of which sugars
- 0.6 g
- Fibre
- 5.3 g
- Protein
- 6.7 g
- Salt
- 1.1 g
That's all the label gives you: 8 values.
In Nutriely
Energy and macros from the label, plus every vitamin and mineral. A few of them:
- Folate
- 108 µg estimated
- Iron
- 3.0 mg estimated
- Calcium
- 113 mg estimated
- Magnesium
- 74 mg estimated
- Potassium
- 275 mg estimated
- Zinc
- 1.5 mg estimated
- Vitamin E
- 1.4 mg estimated
- Vitamin K
- 23 µg estimated
More than 70 values in total, from vitamins and minerals to fatty acids and amino acids.
How it works
1. Take a photo of the label.
Nutriely reads the ingredient list, any percentages, and the nutrition table. EU labels and US Nutrition Facts labels both work.
2. Every ingredient is matched.
Each ingredient is matched to a food in our catalog, with its full nutrient profile from national food databases: Fineli, USDA and NutriData.
Learn more3. The algorithm works out the recipe.
It finds how much of each ingredient the product most likely contains. Then it adds up every vitamin and mineral those ingredients bring.
4. Every nutrient, against your targets.
The food now has its full profile, each value next to your own daily target. Estimated values show in grey, so you always know which is which. Add it to a meal like any other food, and its vitamins and minerals count too.
The math, in plain words.
Think of it as a puzzle with the border already done. Ingredient lists are ordered by weight, heaviest first, and some give percentages. The nutrition table gives totals that the recipe has to add up to.
The algorithm tries thousands of possible recipes. It keeps the ones that match the label's energy, fat, saturates, carbs, sugar, protein and salt, respect any stated percentages, and stay close to the label order. Once the recipe fits, the vitamins and minerals follow from the ingredients.
The recipe it found for the hummus, per 100 g
-
Chickpeas, cooked (label says 55%) 55 g
-
Water 12 g
-
Sesame paste (tahini) (label says 12%) 12 g
-
Rapeseed oil 7.2 g
-
Lemon juice 6.6 g
-
Salt 1.1 g
-
Garlic 6.0 g
What we keep, what we estimate.
- Energy, fat, saturates, carbohydrate, sugars, protein and salt stay exactly as printed. They are what the recipe is fitted to.
- Added vitamins and minerals listed on the label, like vitamin D in a fortified plant drink, are kept too.
- Everything else is estimated and marked as estimated in the app, so you always know which is which.
Where it falls short.
It's an estimate from the label, not a lab test. It works best when the ingredient list is complete, ideally with percentages, and the ingredients are specific ("sunflower oil", not "vegetable oil").
Small ingredients at the end of the list are the hardest to pin down. In the hummus above it gives garlic more weight than salt, which no cook would do. Their effect on the vitamins and minerals is small, but it shows this is an estimate. It's also less reliable for vague ingredients like "flavourings", for heavily processed foods where cooking or fermentation changes the nutrients, and for very short labels. If no recipe fits the label well enough, Nutriely keeps the label values and estimates nothing.
Why it matters.
Packaged foods are a big part of most diets. If only their macros count, your vitamins and minerals look lower than they really are, and you can't see which foods actually bring you iron or fibre. With full profiles, your top contributors and gaps are based on everything you eat.
See how Nutriely teachesFrequently Asked Questions
How accurate is it?
It's an estimate, not a lab test. When the ingredient list is complete and specific, the recipe it finds matches the label closely, and the vitamins and minerals follow from well-measured ingredient data. Vague ingredients ("spices", "vegetable oil") and heavily processed foods make it less exact. If no recipe fits the label well enough, Nutriely keeps the label values and estimates nothing.
Where do the numbers come from?
From national food composition databases, through the ingredients: Fineli, USDA FoodData Central and NutriData. The algorithm only works out how much of each ingredient the product contains. It doesn't invent nutrient values. See our data sources.
Does it work with US Nutrition Facts labels?
Yes. EU labels (per 100 g) and US Nutrition Facts labels (per serving) both work. US values are converted to per 100 g using the serving weight.
Will it change the values printed on the label?
No. Energy, fat, saturates, carbohydrate, sugars, protein and salt stay exactly as printed, and so do added vitamins and minerals in fortified foods. The other nutrients are estimated, and they are marked as estimated in the app.
Is it free?
The free plan includes one photo analysis a day. Premium has unlimited photo analysis. You can also enter the ingredients and nutrition table by hand, without a photo.
Start learning with Nutriely.
Free to download and free to use. Try Premium free for 7 days when you want the full picture.