In 2022, the Commission will propose the introduction of a common nutritional logo for the wholeEU. The “Nutri-Score”, already applied in France which gives a “note” ranging from A to E to foods, is the favorite. But he encounters fierce opposition from a food heavyweight: Italy.
Signed in 1919, the Treaty of Versailles went down in history for the humiliating reparations it inflicted on Germany. But if we look more closely at this agreement, which ended World War I, we also discover a lesser-known goal of the Allies: to protect champagne. Article 275 guaranteed to the delicate French palates that they would never again have to suffer the infamy of a sparkling German disguised in tricolor nectar.
Today, diplomats and historians agree that the Treaty of Versailles is not one of the great European achievements, given its role in triggering another world conflict. Without doubt the winegrowers are therefore the only ones to hold him in esteem.
A century later, food remains a highly political subject in Europe. This year thus marks the 60th anniversary of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), which still accounts for a third of the European Union budget. Regularly, we see trade agreements called for by certain Member States fall apart in the name of protecting farmers in another country (often France). But today the knives are sharpened around a new subject.
Indeed, the European Commission is preparing this year to propose standardized labeling of nutritional information on product packaging. The idea is to warn consumers against foods that make you fat. But if this initiative has the support of nutritionists, its detractors see it as an affront to the European art of living.
In reality, almost everything that is eaten in Europe must already, since 2016, display its nutritional qualities. But the criteria are hardly demanding. As a result, this information is found on the back of the packaging, presented in a typeface as is generally reserved for the most subtle details of an insurance contract.
In 2017, a team of French researchers developed a system that synthesizes this almost illegible data in the form of a “Nutri-Score”. This standardized logo, placed in a place perfectly visible to the consumer, gives the product a grade (from A for “acceptable” to E for “execrable”). These notes are also illustrated by a color code. A simplicity that has earned Nutri-Score praise from health authorities and
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Great institution of the British press, The Economist, founded in 1843 by a Scottish hatter, is the bible for anyone interested in international affairs. Openly liberal, he generally defends free trade,
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