Better steer consumers towards more balanced products without "penalizing" "local products," according to the government: to combat overweight and obesity, the new Nutri-Score was validated on Friday despite disagreements within the executive.
"Given the pressing public health challenges, the ministers have decided to sign the decree amending the rules for calculating the Nutri-Score," four ministers (Economy, Health, Agriculture, and Trade) announced in a press release.
The aim is to "fight against excess weight and obesity" and to address "issues as serious as cardiovascular disease, diabetes and certain cancers," Health Minister Catherine Vautrin explained on TF1.
However, a pledge has been made to the agri-food sector: the ministers assure that they will be "careful to ensure that this system (...) does not harm products derived from the richness of our lands and symbols of our culinary heritage." They intend to remain "vigilant to the side effects" that the new method of calculating the Nutri-Score "causes for products derived from French know-how."
Companies and brands involved in this voluntary approach also have "two years to update their packaging and display the new Nutri-Score," according to their press release.
"This is a victory for public health, a great source of satisfaction since this decree has been awaited for over a year: it serves as a reminder that these public health issues must be at the forefront of the government's concerns," Professor Serge Hercberg, one of the designers of Nutri-Score, told AFP.
The consumer association Foodwatch also saw it as a victory for "citizen mobilization against agri-food lobbies."
– “Yes, but” –
The government's green light seemed far from certain last week.
Previous governments had approved this new version, which is stricter for certain products processed by the agri-food industry to take into account recent scientific work.
But the current Minister of Agriculture, Annie Genevard, had publicly admitted to blocking the publication of the decree, criticizing the Nutri-score level for giving a poor rating to "remarkable" local products, particularly cheeses and charcuterie.
"Yes to the Nutri-score, but with a request for continuous improvement of the system," the minister, who will meet with Professor Serge Hercberg on Friday, told AFP.
"That's the balance I wanted," she added.
Ms. Genevard, however, still warns against the "side effects" of the system. "When you take a cheese: 100 grams of cheese classified as E, we don't take into account the reality of normal cheese consumption, which is around 30 grams."
Designed by expert nutrition scientists, the Nutri-Score was implemented in 2017 in France, on a voluntary basis, and in six other European countries. It ranks food products from A to E according to their composition and nutritional content.
The new method of calculation notably improves "the differentiation between foods according to their salt and sugar content", as well as the classification of oily fish, oils lower in saturated fatty acids and drinks.
"The relevant ministries will be asked to study" the potential "side effects" and "to initiate discussions at the European level to see how they can be better taken into account," the joint statement from the ministers stated.
– “Other battles” –
In the face of criticism from Annie Genevard, voices have been raised in recent days to defend this new labeling.
This is a "real public health tool, popular with the French and influencing purchasing choices, and we cannot act as if overweight and obesity are not a public health problem," stressed the Director General of Health, Dr. Grégory Emery, on Thursday.
Some players in the mass distribution and agri-food processing sectors have also expressed their support.
The supermarket employers' federation, the FCD, welcomed the revised Nutri-Score order, a label that is "useful for everyone: it encourages better nutritional choices as much as it encourages companies to improve their recipes."
There are still "other battles to be fought to convince manufacturers to adopt the Nutri-Score," and ultimately "make it mandatory" to "give consumers the best possible chance of making informed choices," according to Serge Hecberg.
Foodwatch has assured that it will continue to "denounce lobbying maneuvers with the European Commission" and to fight for "the logo to become mandatory across the continent."
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