Spain will soon adopt Nutri Score, the nutritional label created in France. This was announced by the Minister María for Health Luisa Carcedo, who specified how the approval is expected in two or three months, while the government is still considering the possibility of introducing a ‘sugar tax’ on soft drinks. “The current nutritional labeling – said the Minister – has been a very important progress, but is not enough given its complexity. The new one will provide more information, allowing people to easily compare products and follow a healthier diet”.
NUTRI SCORE: HOW DOES IT WORK
In the coming weeks, the Ministry will open discussions with the food industry, so that companies can gradually adapt to the use of Nutri Score label. This kind of new traffic light label consists of a five-colour logo – from green to red – and five letters – from A to E – to be affixed to the front of the packs. The system assigns a colour and a letter to each product based on the content of sugars, saturated fats, salt and calories (nutrients to be limited), fibre, fruit and vegetables, and protein (positive nutrients).
TRAFFIC LIGHT LABEL IN THE EU
Nutri Score was officially approved in France in October 2017. Since then, major companies and retail chains such as Danone, Bonduelle, Fleury Michon, Auchan, Intermarché and many others adopted it. Last summer, Auchan announced that it would also use the label on products sold in Portugal, while Belgium decided to adopt Nutri-Score with the support of experts in the food and nutrition sectors. The Spanish Health Minister also announced a reform of the industry’s self-regulation code for advertising food and drink to children and adolescents.
ITALY AGAINST TRAFFIC LIGHT LABELS
While many countries choose to adopt traffic light labels, Italy continues to oppose them. The Minister of Agriculture, together with food industry and farmers associations, has strongly declared his opposition to the introduction of any kind of simplified nutritional labeling as it would damage Italian food products.