The Nutri-Score nutritional labelling system is to become European. In addition to legally compliant use in all member states, contradictions with current nutritional recommendations are to be resolved.
28. February 2020
With its five-level colour and letter scale, the Nutri-Score provides an overview of the nutritional quality of a product. (Image: wwwebmeister/shutterstock.com)
The Nutri-Score nutritional labelling system is to become European. In addition to the legally compliant use in all member states, necessary adjustments to the calculation basis are to be discussed by independent scientists in order to resolve contradictions with current nutritional recommendations.
Both the German Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture (BMEL) and the ministers of other European member states have thus agreed on a first meeting on the Nutri-Score has taken up important demands made by the German Food Association and put them into practice.
In December 2019, the Food Association formulated the necessary framework conditions for the successful introduction of the Nutri-Score on a voluntary basis with regard to nutritional, legal and health policy aspects and submitted these to the BMEL. The core requirement is that the Nutri-Score a European system becomes.
Christoph Minhoff, Managing Director of Lebensmittelverband Deutschland e. V. (Image: Lebensmittelverband Deutschland/Santiago Engelhardt)
„The fact that our key demands are seen by the BMEL and other European ministries as important for the success and significance of the Nutri-Score shows that it was right to get involved constructively in the process and support it,“ explained Christoph Minhoff, Managing Director of the Food Association.
Display
Mapping Europe with legal certainty
All rights with regard to the Nutri-Score are currently available from the French health authority Santé Publique France, which alone can decide which concerns are taken into account and which are not. To ensure that all European dietary habits can be represented, model sovereignty should be transferred to a superordinate European institution be handed over. This is now to be tackled.
So it should not only be a international registration portal The current trade mark rights holder Santé Publique France will be able to provide information on the Nutri-Score in all official languages of the participating countries, and there will also be a European secretariat for the Nutri-Score, which will assist the trade mark rights holder. An internationally coordinated hotline for general questions is also to be set up so that these can be answered in a standardised manner to assist the industry.
The adjustments to the basis for calculating the Nutri-Score demanded by the food association in order to resolve contradictions with general nutritional recommendations will now also be discussed at European level. To this end, a International scientific committee with independent scientists from the participating member states.
More Legal certainty Finally, when using the Nutri-Score, it should be ensured that official documents, for example on the conditions of use, are available in all official languages of the participating countries.
The next meeting of the ministers is scheduled for April 2020 will take place. The measures will then be concretised.
[infotext icon]Lebensmittelverband Deutschland e. V. is the umbrella organisation of the German food industry. Its members include associations and companies from the entire food chain „from field to fork“, from agriculture, trade, industry, commerce and catering. Its members also include private testing laboratories, law firms and individuals[/infotext].
