The Nutri-Score aims to help consumers choose the healthiest foods. But when we don’t know its exact meaning, it can be misleading…
Star supermarket shelves, the Nutri-Score is a logo based on a scale of 5 colors and 5 letters (A B C D E) allowing consumers to make better nutritional choices. His calculation, stricter since January 2024takes into account the nutrients to promote (fiber, proteins, fruits, vegetables, legumes, nuts, rapeseed, nut and olive oil) and elements to limit (calories, sugars, salt, saturated fatty acids, etc.) for 100 gr or 100 mL of product. It is approved by public health authorities in France and other European countries. However, this tool presents limits and can sometimes induce the consumer to error.
Nutri-Score A: necessarily good for your health?
“We won’t be able to compare a frozen pizza with yogurt”
The consumer must go further than simply looking at the letter affixed to the product. “The Nutri-Score is relevant only to compare two products of the same categorytells us Isabelle Souchon, research director at INRAE on the quality and processing processes of fruits and vegetables. It’s good to compare 2 products of different brands or different scents. On the other hand, we will not be able to compare a frozen pizza with a yogurt for example.“.
► In the frozen pizza category for example: a pizza with a Nutri-Score A is better than one with a Nutri-Score B, but is not necessarily balanced and good for your health.
The example of the Chocapic
Chocolate Chocapic©, famous cereals from the Nestlé brand, display a Nutri-Score A. This means that among all breakfast cereals, Chocapic© are among the best from a nutritional point of view: their sugar and salt content is lower than other cereals in the same category, and their higher fiber content (they are made with whole wheat). The consumer could then tell yourself that it is a very healthy foodwith a very interesting nutritional profile and that it It is better (for parents) to take Chocapic A cereals that the children will like instead of taking wholemeal bread also Nutri-Score A. Fake ! The Chocapic are only best in their category “breakfast cereals” but not overall foods that can be eaten in the morning. Chocapic© are not to be consumed “at will” because it is a very sweet, ultra-processed food (8 g of sugars per serving, or 30% of the recommended daily intake of added sugar). “The Nutri-Score follows an algorithm and provides information on the nutritional profile of foods, but it does not allow you to avoid ultra-processed foods at all costswhose consumption is to limit for health“, warns our interlocutor.