2024-01-05 15:08:30
January 5, 2024
At the start of the year, the Nutri-score adopted a new calculation method. More rigorous, particularly on the sugar content, certain products will see their rating drop. Explanations.
The Nutri-score algorithm, this algorithm which classifies foods from A, the best, to E, the worst, changed on January 1, 2024. Objective: classify foods and drinks as close as possible to the recommendations of European countries . Thus, the Nutri-score steering committee, made up of Belgium, France, Germany, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Spain and Switzerland, agreed to tighten up the Nutri-score calculation. Score on different aspects.
Cereals, oils…
For products that are too sweet and too salty, it will now be more difficult to obtain a good score. Concrete example with breakfast cereals, which have a relatively high sugar content, can no longer be classified A but move to C. This is the case for Chocapic and Nesquik cereals, for children, but also Nature Fitness and Special K, for adults. Even sweeter cereals suffer the same fate. Lion cereals go from C to D.
Change also in terms of oils. Oils low in saturated fatty acids, which increase the risk of cardiovascular disease, are valued over others. Thus, olive oil and rapeseed oil move into category B, sunflower oil into C. The classification of other vegetable oils and butter remain unchanged, in D and E.
Valued fatty fish, poultry and wholemeal breads
Several other new aspects are also taken into account in the new calculation. Thus whole foods, rich in fiber, such as bread, pasta, rice will be valued over refined foods. Cereals used whole (with the whole grain) contain much more fiber, minerals and vitamins than refined cereals, so it will be easier to differentiate them with the new calculation. Poultry, reputed to be healthier because it is less rich in fat, is valued over red meat (in concrete terms, the points provided by proteins are capped for red meat). Likewise, fatty fish (without additives), rich in omega-3, are also highlighted. And pressed cheeses with a low salt content (like Emmental) rise to class C.
The drinks
Changes are also being made to drinks, particularly milk drinks. Skimmed and semi-skimmed milks enter this category (and leave general foods) and go from A to B, from B to C for whole milk. “Sugary milk drinks (flavored milks) will no longer be classified A or B (as is the case with the current Nutri-Score) and will now be classified mainly as D and E (some of these low sugar drinks may find yourself in C)”, explains the Nutri-score blog. Example: Candy-up and Yop, too sweet, downgrade from B to D.
What about the many drinks containing sweeteners, suspected of being associated with an increased risk of cancer? They may be less sweet, but these drinks (called light, low-fat or zero, etc.) will now be penalized. They “will pass into class C (or even D/E for those which contain both sweeteners and sugar)”, specifies the Nutri-score blog. Coca-Cola Zero would go from B to C, if Coca Cola company agreed to integrate the Nutri-score on its packaging. Because the logo is not obligatory and depends, remember, on the goodwill of the manufacturers.
Water remains the only drink in category A.
What future changes?
For the moment, the fact that the products are ultra-processed is not visible on the Nutri-score logo. However, as epidemiologist Mathilde Touvier confirmed to Destination Santé, evidence concerning their toxicity is accumulating. One of the next developments in the Nutri-score could thus feature a black banner around the logo to indicate to consumers that it is an ultra-processed product. Likewise, the AB label, which indicates that the food is organic and normally pesticide-free, could be displayed next to Nutri-score to make it easier to read the product at a glance.
To note : the new Nutri-score will gradually be rolled out on packaging. Manufacturers have until the end of 2025 to display the score obtained with the new algorithm.
Source: Santé Publique France, the Nutri-Score blog
Written by: Dorothée Duchemin – Edited by Emmanuel Ducreuzet
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