"More speed": consumer advocates want to make "reliable help" when choosing food a duty

Created: 04/12/2022, 14:11

By: Astrid Theil

According to the consumer advice centers, too few foods have been awarded the Nutri-Score.

(Iconic image) © Christoph Hardt/Future Image/Imago

Consumer centers criticize that the Nutri-Score is only slowly gaining ground - and call for mandatory labeling.

Berlin - The so-called Nutri-Score is printed on more and more packaged products, which provides orientation about the nutrient composition of the respective food.

However, the introduction of the Nutri-Score is progressing too slowly for the consumer advice centres.

The Hamburg consumer center (VZHH) announced on Thursday (December 1) that of the 1,451 foods examined, only around 40 percent were labeled with the food traffic light.

This is only seven percentage points more than in the previous year.

"We demand more speed from the food industry when it comes to Nutri-Score," said Armin Valet from the VZHH.

According to consumer advocates, the food traffic light is "a reliable aid for consumers when choosing products with a better nutrient composition".

Nutri-Score: Help with assessing the nutrient composition of food

The Nutri-Score from dark green A to red E is a five-level traffic light.

A fixed formula is used to calculate which category a product falls into.

Sugar, salt, saturated fat and lots of calories have an unfavorable effect.

A high proportion of fruit, vegetables, nuts, fiber and protein, among other things, brings plus points.

Since November 2020, the score can be printed on packaged food in Germany with legal certainty - but on a voluntary basis.

The Nutri-Score is intended to make it easier for consumers to make a selection within a product group - for example within the bread category or the milk drinks category.

This is particularly possible if many foods within a product group carry the traffic light.

Nutri-Score: Pizzas are particularly well marked

According to consumer advice centers, pizzas are marked particularly frequently with 70 percent of the products examined.

Cereals and dairy products, on the other hand, are rarely provided with a Nutri-Score at 28 percent each.

"What's encouraging is that vendors improved the nutrient composition of about a tenth of the products studied over the course of the year," Valet said.

The consumer centers are committed to introducing the Nutri-Score.

However, such a decision is taken at EU level.

In the coming year, the EU Commission intends to present a proposal for what is known as extended nutritional labeling.

However, the chances of introducing a mandatory Nutri-Score are slim.

Decision in EU: mandatory Nutri-Score unlikely

Some EU countries are vehemently opposed to the system.

"The EU Commission will not propose the Nutri-Score," said EU Commission Deputy Director-General Claire Bury recently.

When asked, a Commission spokeswoman pointed out that the proposal was still in progress.