A new version of the Nutriscore should be ready for implementation by the end of this year. The food label will be stricter, especially for sugar, salt and meat. Italy is already banning the label, even though the reform meets one of its main criticisms.
Everything one point stricter
The Nutriscore is currently being reviewed by a scientific committee. By the end of this year, a new version that is more in line with the general dietary guidelines should be ready. The label, which assigns food products a colour and letter code based on health, was criticised for scoring olive oil – relatively – poorly, while being too mild for red meat.
In general, fewer products will achieve the best A rating, because the required scores for the A and B categories are increased by one point. Whole grain products, such as bread and rice, will score better from now on, while the calculation will also take into account the difference between sweetened and unsweetened dairy products.
The algorithm will be stricter for sugars and salt, but milder for fatty fish such as salmon. Also new is a distinction between poultry and red meat, which would mean that more unprepared, unseasoned poultry would end up in the A category and less red meat.
Oil concession may not help
Scientific advice for the beverage category is still being developed, but it is already clear that nuts and seeds in the new version have been moved from the ‘fruit and vegetables’ category to ‘fats and oils’. This will allow vegetable oils such as olive oil and nut oil to be given a letter B instead of the current C. The food industry will be given transitional time after the launch to adjust logos and packaging.
It is the first major revision since its launch in 2017. The seven countries that have introduced the system nationally, including the Benelux and France, have already given their blessing to the changes, Belgian newspaper De Standaard reports. Very different reactions are emerging from Italy, where the competition authority has actually banned the use of the nutriscore. The market authority calls the label misleading because it is “arbitrary” and “biased”. Chains that use the nutritional score, such as Carrefour, must remove the scores from packaging in Italy.
