Nutri-Score: The food traffic light

The Nutri-Score system originates from France. The system is used to label the nutritional profile of a food product. On the packaging of products for this purpose is a five-level scale consisting of letters (from A to E) and colors (dark green, light green, yellow, orange and red). Behind the labeling is the use of a calculation algorithm designed to present the advantages or disadvantages of a food's nutrient profile in an overall assessment. This allows consumers to decide which product is better for their diet. It should be emphasized that the Nutri-Score is only used for comparability within the same category and does not allow global statements about the health of an overall diet. Therefore, purchasing exclusively "green" rated products does not necessarily mean a healthy and balanced diet. Green is not automatically a healthy product and red is not forbidden.

How does the Nutri-Score work?

The Nutri Score is calculated on a 100 gram basis:

• Nutrients and ingredients that are rated as positive (protein, fiber, fruit, vegetables) receive negative points.
• Nutrients and ingredients rated as negative (energy, saturated fatty acids, sugar, salt) receive positive points. Both are offset against each other, the lower the total score, the higher the overall rating.

The Nutri-Score does not serve as a guide for a balanced diet and does not replace the food pyramid as recommended by the Federal Food Safety and Veterinary Office (FSVO). A balanced diet requires a variety of foods in the recommended amounts and in appropriate proportions. Besides the Nutri-Score, other tables are also available on product packaging. While these are not as easy to read, they still provide more information than the Nutri-Score alone. The Nutri-Score therefore does not replace the previous information, but serves as additional information and assistance.

Criticism of the Nutri-Score

Many manufacturers do not yet use the labeling. The association Foodwatch is the most critical of the Nutri-Score. For Foodwatch, it is a problem that such labeling manipulates consumers' decisions and contributes to people not eating well anymore. However, scientists have shown that nutrition labels on food packaging in the form of traffic light colors on the front of the package are the easiest to understand. Such labels can help people make healthier purchasing decisions. Based on these findings, medical associations, health insurance funds and consumer organizations have been calling for the introduction of a food traffic light system for some time. However, the implementation of a Europe-wide mandatory traffic light met with considerable resistance from the food industry in 2010. Since 2017, the Nutri-Score has spread across Europe, starting in France. In addition to France, this model is recommended as a voluntary label in countries such as Belgium, Germany, Spain, the Netherlands, Switzerland and Luxembourg. Other countries are also considering the introduction of the Nutri-Score. To ensure that the Nutri-Score is effective in improving consumers' dietary habits, voluntary labeling alone is not sufficient. Foodwatch is therefore advocating for mandatory Nutri-Score food labeling to be introduced across the European Union.

Further development of the Nutri-Score

At the beginning of 2021, European countries interested in or already participating in the Nutri-Score have taken joint steps. Their goal is to make the use of the Nutri-Score uniform throughout Europe and to base the calculation methods on scientifically sound evidence.

In the summer of 2021, a steering committee in Germany and a scientific panel called on the public to submit proposals for the further development of the Nutri-Score algorithm. The aim of this initiative was for the COEN (Countries officially engaged in Nutri-Score) to notice from different opinions where and how the Nutri-Score can be further developed. In July 2022 came the first proposal to adjust Nutri-Score for the category "Solid Food". The second proposal came in March 2023 for the "Beverages" category. The adjustments to Nutri-Score better reflect the respective country-specific dietary recommendations. This has helped address a criticism of the previous algorithm.

The new algorithm

The authorities in Switzerland, Belgium, France, Germany, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and Spain have agreed on a coordinated introduction of the revised algorithm. From December 31, 2023, German companies will be able to use the updated algorithm to label their food products. For products manufactured before the introduction of the revised algorithm and already bearing the Nutri-Score logo, a transition period of 24 months will apply, during which the labeling can be changed to the new algorithm. In Switzerland, the Federal Food Safety and Veterinary Office is responsible for information on the Nutri-Score and its introduction.

Image gain thanks to Nutri-Score

The Nutri-Score is both a challenge and an opportunity for manufacturers. Those who use the Nutri-Score on their products win in the customers' favor. The Nutri-Score is also gradually influencing the purchasing behavior of customers. This is an opportunity for manufacturers to increase the attractiveness of products and generate greater interest. But the challenge is: what happens if not all products are Nutri-Scored? The products without a Nutri-Score could fall out of favor with consumers and lose image. In the medium term, customers might expect to find the score on the products, Alexander Holst, an expert at the consulting firm Accenture, told Lebensmittel Zeitung in January 2020. A missing Nutri-Score could then have an even worse impact than an unfavorable Nutri-Score.

The Nutri-Score label opens up opportunities for manufacturers to adapt products to get a better rating while taking into account consumer tastes and preferences. Sensory research plays a crucial role by developing efficient tests and special research methods to find the optimal product variation. The Institute for Sensory Research and Innovation in Göttingen (Isi) specializes in this field and offers support in reformulating products, using modern tests and many years of experience.

Isi Managing Director Robert Möslein explained in an interview (Institute for Sensory Research and Innovation) how reformulating products for Nutri-Score works and what tests are used. "Is it even possible to change any product to improve on Nutri-Score?" When asked this question, Robert Möslein answered this way, "For some products, such as sweets, this may not make sense, but a large number of products - from juices to finished products - can make leaps on the Nutri-Score through targeted changes in the formulation. Many companies are already reducing sugar content in their products." A concrete example of the Nutri-Score would then be this, as Robert Möslein explains, "A manufacturer wants to improve the Nutri-Score of his pizza. This is possible, for example, by using less salt in the dough or toppings, using mozzarella and milk powder with less fat content, reducing sugar and replacing margarine with olive oil. If you include the original pizza, this example would result in 4×3×3×3 = 48 pizza variations. That's too many to test them all against each other. However, using the design-of-experiment approach, we can reduce this number to a minimum and, thanks to an intelligent algorithm, still draw conclusions about all 48 combinations later using the results of the sensory tests. Finally, we send 12 pizza variants into the race."

The data analysis will then show which changes affect the sensory profile of the pizza and in what way. Ingredients that have little or no impact on the sensory profile will then be good candidates to improve the nutri score without compromising taste. "We then have the pizzas with the most promising new recipe tested in a blind tasting," says Möslein.

The Nutri-Score is therefore not only used to sensitize consumers to the need for a balanced diet. Food manufacturers also use this instrument to improve the quality of their products and thus make them more attractive to customers - because they then taste "better" and are possibly also "healthier. 

Author:

Adelisa Salaji Kalajdzini is a trainee editor at Galledia Fachmedien AG. www.galledia.ch