The International Food Exhibition (SIAL) has opened in Paris. The Nutri-score is evolving because its algorithm is due to change at the end of this year.
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The European steering committee must give manufacturers a timetable at the end of the year to update their labels, and this new Nutri-score should appear next year. Visually, we will keep the notation by a color ranging from green to red, and by a letter ranging from A to E. But the calculation rules will evolve to follow the recommendations of the international scientific committee for monitoring Nutri-score.
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With the new algorithm, products high in sugar or salt will be scored more severely, especially sweet dairy products. The logo will also distinguish between red meat and poultry meat, it will promote fatty fish rich in omega 3, and will give a lower rating to hard cheeses with limited amounts of salt (such as Emmental). Finally, products rich in fiber – less refined – are also better valued.
Research teams have confirmed, at the international level, that the regular consumption of foods less well rated by the Nutri-score is associated with a higher risk of chronic diseases: cancer, or cardiovascular disease in particular, recalls Professor Serge Hercberg of the Nutritional Epidemiology Research Team. This logo is also well accepted and understood by consumers, but it is also criticized for the fact that it mechanically penalizes certain fatty and salty products, in particular artisanal products, regardless of the quantity consumed and the method of manufacture. Another criticism of the logo, its optional side: 40% of French food products still do not carry Nutri-score denounces in particular the UFC that Choose.
The presence of food additives or sweeteners is not yet taken into account in the new notation but it is under study for a future version because more and more research works indeed establish a link between the regular consumption of ultra-processed foods and certain pathologies: colorectal cancer which is 29% higher in men in particular or risk of obesity increased by 45% in adolescents. This is why there is discussion on one track: that of making a dark band appear around the Nutri-scorewhen the product is ultra-processed.