Europe’s Biggest Dietary Problem? Lobbyists, Says Nutri-Score Creator
Europe’s Food Fight: Is Nutri-Score Losing the Battle for Healthier Eating?
The “five fruit and veg per day” slogan’s creator is sounding the alarm as right-wing politicians and industry groups push back against the Nutri-Score food labeling system.
Serge Hercberg, the French scientist behind the iconic health campaign, is watching with growing concern as the Nutri-Score system, once poised to become the EU’s standard for front-of-pack labeling, faces a fierce backlash.
As its adoption in France in 2017, Nutri-Score, a color-coded system ranking foods from A (healthiest) to E (least healthy), has been hailed as a simple and effective tool to help consumers make informed choices. However, since 2022, the system has been on the defensive, caught in the crosshairs of a broader anti-Green Deal movement that has also targeted laws aimed at reducing pesticide use, promoting animal welfare, and curbing deforestation.
Italy has emerged as a leading force in the opposition, framing the system as an ”anti-Italian” attack on its cherished culinary traditions. greece, Hungary, Romania, and other countries have joined the chorus, backed by powerful agricultural lobbies like Copa-Cogeca and its national affiliates.
“It’s caricatural,” Hercberg argues, pointing out that olive oil receives a respectable B rating, while meats and cheeses, which should be consumed in moderation, receive lower scores. “I remind them that today it’s in the countries of the south — Italy, Spain, Greece and Portugal — that the prevalence of overweight and childhood obesity is the highest.”
Despite the resistance, Hercberg remains committed to Nutri-Score. He emphasizes his willingness to embrace a more effective system if one emerges. “If tomorrow there was a logo shown to be more effective, I’d abandon Nutri-score immediately,” he vows.
Though, the system’s momentum has stalled. Portugal’s new center-right government recently dropped Nutri-Score, leaving only six EU countries whose health ministries still recommend it: France, Spain, germany, Belgium, Luxembourg, and the netherlands.
The future of Nutri-Score hangs in the balance, caught between the desire for simpler, healthier food choices and the powerful forces pushing back against perceived threats to national culinary identities and industry interests.
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