Nutri-Score
This system was selected by the French government in March 2017 to be displayed on food products after it was compared against several labels proposed by industry or retailers.
[3] It was created by Santé Publique France,[5] the French public health agency, based on the work of Serge Hercberg from Sorbonne Paris North University.
The calculation process is based on a concept developed by the UK Food Standards Agency, also known as “model WXYfm”, which was evaluated in 2005 by Professor Mike Rayner.
[31] In recent years, other countries have also decided to formally accept the system for voluntary use in their domestic markets: Belgium (2018), Switzerland (2019), Germany (2020), Luxembourg (2020) and the Netherlands (2021).
[32] In Portugal, Slovenia and Austria, some food companies such as Nestlé, Auchan or Danone announced that they would use the Nutri-Score although it was not officially recommended by the authorities.
[35] Opposition to Nutri-Score is from a coalition of countries including Italy, the Czech Republic, Cyprus, Greece, Hungary, Latvia, and Romania.
In their studies, the European Commission and the World Health Organisation point to the need for a transparent, simple and intuitive food labelling system.
[41] By the end of 2022, the European Commission intends to launch EU-wide public consultation on an EU harmonised and mandatory front-of-pack nutrition labelling.
WHO encourages countries and research institutions to further analyze information and collect data to better understand the impact of different front-of-pack labelling systems on consumer behaviour and dietary choices.
The aim of the study was to compare the efficiency of: Nutri-Score, Nutrimark HSR, UK's Multiple Traffic Light (MTL), SENS, Nutri-Reperes.
In a large international study covering 12 countries from different parts of the world (a study group of over 12,000 consumers from Bulgaria, Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, Mexico, Singapore, Spain, the UK and the USA) looking at five different traffic light systems, the Multiple Traffic Lights (MTL) system received the highest score.
The respondents were asked to rate randomly selected systems in terms of: likeability, trust, understandability, relevance, and obligatory use.
[52] Research on improvements in consumer dietary choices owed to the influence of different front-of-pack labelling systems has shown that the efficiency of the MTL and Nutri-Score is similar.
One meta-analysis [55] concluded that "findings on the efficacy of front-of-pack nutrition labels in ‘nudging’ consumers toward healthier food purchases remain mixed and inconclusive".
[59] Some criticize that due to its methodological limitations, the system may promote highly processed foods of low nutritional value, while devaluing natural, organic and regional products[citation needed].
[60] The system also does not guarantee that the consumer's choice of only products with the highest rating will allow them to compose a balanced diet - this was stated by 80% of surveyed experts.
[65][66] [67] [68] [69] The AGCM also opened proceedings against the French owner of a smartphone app called Yuka, which is intended to help users assess the nutritional value of products based on the Nutri-Score system.
