Answer given by Ms Kyriakides on behalf of the European Commission
12.4.2021
In the context of notifications of national measures[1], the Commission assessed the compliance of Nutri-Score with the EU legislation.
Nutri-Score is a voluntary national front-of-pack nutrition labelling scheme[2]. As announced by the countries engaged in Nutri-Score[3], a scientific committee has been established with a mandate to provide independent advice on the potential update of the current algorithm of Nutri-Score.
Improving consumer information and encouraging healthy diets are important objectives of the Farm to Fork Strategy[4]. The Commission has announced its ambition to prepare by the end of 2022 a proposal for harmonised mandatory front-of-pack nutrition labelling at EU level.
The strategy does not recommend any specific type of front-of-pack nutrition labelling scheme. As a first step, the Commission has launched an impact assessment on the different possible options for front-of-pack nutrition labelling[5].
In addition, the Commission has asked the European Food Safety Authority to provide scientific advice[6] and the Joint Research Centre to update the previous literature review[7] taking into account the latest scientific publications and papers.
- [1] Notifications 2017/0159/F, 2018/0496/B, 2020/0111/D and 2020/0391/L available at https://ec.europa.eu/growth/tools-databases/tris/en/search/
- [2] The national notified drafts refer to the methods for calculating the nutritional score of foods based on their nutritional composition. The general algorithm considers both negative (sugars, saturated fats, salt and calories) and positive elements (proteins, fibre and content of fruits, vegetables, pulses, nuts and rapeseed, walnut and olive oils); foods are divided into five categories on the basis of this score. Specific criteria are used in specific food groups (i.e. cheese, added fat and beverages).
- [3] E.g. https://mpc.gouvernement.lu/en/le-ministere/consodur/page_coord_trans.html
- [4] COM(2020) 381 final.
- [5] https://ec.europa.eu/info/law/better-regulation/have-your-say/initiatives/12749-Revision-of-food-information-to-consumers
- [6] https://www.efsa.europa.eu/en/news/efsas-scientific-advice-inform-harmonised-front-pack-labelling-and-restriction
- [7] https://ec.europa.eu/jrc/en/publication/eur-scientific-and-technical-research-reports/front-pack-nutrition-labelling-schemes-comprehensive-review