Untargeted metabolomics approaches challenge the nutri-score FOPNL system in soluble cocoa products Palma-Morales, Marta Rangel Huerta, Óscar Daniel Urrialde, Rafael Rodríguez Pérez, Celia Front-of-pack nutrition labels (FOPNL) like the Nutri-Score aim to guide healthier food choices, but their focus on limited nutritional parameters may overlook key health-promoting compounds. This study analyzed 54 commercial soluble cocoa powders from the Spanish market—covering 19 brands and Nutri-Score categories A to D—using untargeted metabolomics (HPLC-ESI-TOF-MS) and univariate and multivariate statistical analysis. PCA and PLS2 analyses showed no clear clustering by Nutri-Score categories, while ANOVA and post-hoc tests revealed limited metabolic differences, highlighting a mismatch between Nutri-Score classification and the actual chemical diversity of soluble cocoa products. Nutri-Score ratings primarily reflect macronutrient balance but fail to account for health-promoting metabolites. In several cases, products richer in bioactive compounds were penalized with lower Nutri-Scores, underscoring a limitation of this system when applied to complex food matrices. These findings highlight the need for more comprehensive labeling approaches that integrate metabolomic insights. 2025-12-15T12:16:32Z 2025-12-15T12:16:32Z 2025-12-03 journal article Palma-Morales, M., Rangel-Huerta, O.D., Urrialde, R. et al. Untargeted metabolomics approaches challenge the nutri-score FOPNL system in soluble cocoa products. npj Sci Food (2025). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41538-025-00649-8 https://hdl.handle.net/10481/108816 10.1038/s41538-025-00649-8 eng http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/ open access Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 Internacional Springer Nature