Auchan and Mega Image recently adopted the NUTRISCORE labeling system, designed and promoted by France, announces the LantulAlimentar publication, which writes that Italy rejects the decision and proposes its own food classification version.
The French Nutriscore system relies on letters (A, B, C, D, E) and colors (dark green, light green, yellow, orange, red) to express the nutritional value of food. The most dietetic ones are numbered with A on a dark green background, the least dietary ones, having a high content of saturated fats, sugars and salt, are numbered with E on a red background.
If a product is dominated by positive nutrients: fiber, protein, a certain percentage of fruits or vegetables, nuts, rapeseed oil, walnut oil and olive oil, it receives a dark green score – A or light green – B. If the food contains mainly negative nutrients: high energy value, sugars, salt, saturated fatty acids, it receives an orange score – D or red – E. Foods in which the two categories of nutrients are balanced receive a yellow score – C. A box of soy milk and calcium is labeled A and dark green, being considered one of the most dietary drinks. Lime honey, on the other hand, received the letter D on an orange background, being considered a rather non-dietary product, due to its sugar content.
However, Italy rejected Nutri-score and designed and promoted its own labeling system, called Nutrinform, the full name being Nutrinform Battery, as it approaches food as energy sources, as a series of batteries that consumers use to obtain daily energy.