Methodology

GreenBee shows you what your groceries cost, how healthy they are, and what they mean for the planet - and lets you decide which of those matter most. This page explains how that works: what we measure, where the data comes from, and what we do when we don't know something. The short version of that last part: we say so.

Four dimensions per product

• Nutrition - the product's Nutri-Score (A–E), plus additives and processing level (NOVA), from Open Food Facts. The Healthier filter matches products with Nutri-Score A or B.
• Environment - the Eco-Score (A–E), a lifecycle measure covering production, packaging, and transport, from Open Food Facts. The Planet filter matches Eco-Score A or B.
• Plastic - ingredient lists from Open Food Facts, checked against the microplastic polymers the EU restricts under REACH. The Plastic-free filter matches products whose ingredient list contains no intentionally added microplastics; no ingredient data means no verdict, never a free pass. Each basket also gets a LOW / MODERATE / HIGH indicator for added microplastics. Packaging plastic counts under Environment - the Eco-Score already includes it.
• Price - shelf prices for the same product across Dutch supermarket chains, from our own price index. The Best price filter flags a product when the same item is at least €0.10 and at least 5% cheaper at another chain - matched by barcode where available, otherwise by name and package size.

No overall grade

GreenBee shows no composite verdict - not on a product, not on a basket. We used to compute one (a weighted blend of nutrition, environment, and price), and real shopping data showed why that was a mistake: when only one dimension is known, a blend quietly turns it into an "overall" judgment. So the app speaks in your terms instead - how many items match the priorities you picked. Nutri-Score and Eco-Score stay visible per product: public, explainable standards. And when a product has no data, it is simply unscored ("—"): we never invent a verdict from missing data.

Honest gaps

• The EU-sourced filter isn't backed by data yet. Until origin data lands, the app says "comparison data coming soon" rather than guessing.
• Plastic is a filter and an indicator, not part of any grade. The ingredient side is firm: the EU restricts intentionally added microplastics under REACH, since 2023, and that is what we flag. What packaging sheds into food is still open science - EFSA's authoritative opinion is expected end of 2027 - so packaging stays under the Eco-Score, and we won't bake a number into any verdict that we couldn't defend.
• Price comparisons are indicative. Shelf prices change often, and matching by name can occasionally confuse close variants of the same product. Where we have barcodes, matches are exact.

Data sources

• Open Food Facts - nutrition, ingredient, environment, packaging, and label data. Open data (ODbL), independently maintained; we mirror it and keep it architecturally separate from everything else. Product data © Open Food Facts contributors.
• Price index - shelf prices for ten Dutch supermarket chains, collected from publicly available chain price lists and updated regularly; bootstrapped with community data via Checkjebon.nl. Our own per-chain collection (with barcodes) is growing, and receipt-verified prices will join it.
• Your receipts - processed with your consent, on your phone where possible, stored in the EU, and never shared with retailers. Yours to delete at any time.

Independence

No retailer or brand pays to be ranked, recommended, or swapped. There is no sponsored placement in scores or suggestions, and there never will be. Trust is the product.

This methodology keeps evolving; when it changes, this page changes with it. Questions: hello@greenbee.app.