Uptake of Nutri-Score during the first year of implementation in Belgium
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COMMENTARY
Open Access
Uptake of Nutri-Score during the first year of implementation in Belgium Stefanie Vandevijvere
Abstract Background: Front-of-pack (FOP) nutrition labeling has been recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO) as one of a suite of measures needed to improve population diets. The voluntary Nutri-Score FOP labeling system, which was first implemented in France, was approved for implementation in Belgium by the Minister of Public Health in August 2018 and has been officially adopted in Belgium since April 1st 2019. We assessed the uptake of Nutri-Score by food retailers and manufacturers during the first year of implementation in Belgium. Main body: In November–December 2019, pictures for 1781 products displaying Nutri-Score on the FOP were collected from the five biggest retailers, representing about 10% of products on the market in Belgium. About 90% of products displaying Nutri-Score on the FOP in 2019 were own-brand products from two major food retailers, while the few remainder were branded products. About 56% of products displayed Nutri-Score A or B while 26% of products displayed Nutri-Score D or E. Conclusion: During the first year of implementation, > 1700 food products displayed Nutri-Score on the FOP in Belgium. While the majority of those products were healthier foods (Nutri-Score A&B), about one quarter of less healthy products (Nutri-Score D&E) already displayed Nutri-Score as well. In the meantime, all five biggest retailers, including discounters, have committed to display Nutri-Score on the FOP from 2020 onwards, which may increase pressure on other food manufacturers to improve uptake of Nutri-Score for branded products. Keywords: Nutri-Score, Front-of-pack labeling, Supermarkets, Belgium
Background Front-of-pack (FOP) nutrition labeling has been repeatedly recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO) as one of a suite of measures needed to improve population diets [1, 2]. The policy objectives of FOP are generally twofold: (i) to provide interpretive information to consumers to inform healthier food choices; and (ii) to encourage the food industry to reformulate their products towards healthier options. The voluntary Nutri-Score FOP labeling system, which was first implemented in France, was approved for implementation in Belgium by the Minister of Public Health in August 2018 and has been officially adopted in Belgium since Correspondence: [email protected] Sciensano, Service of lifestyle and chronic diseases, J Wytsmanstraat 14, 1050 Brussels, Belgium
April 1st 2019. Nutri-Score is calculated based on the energy, saturated fat, total sugar, sodium, and fruit, vegetable, nut and legume contents and, in some instances, the protein and fibre content. Nutri-Score rates the nutritional quality of packaged foods with five colours/letters from red (least healthy) to green (most healthy) [3]. A previous study among 1007 Belgian consumers found that NutriScore was the most effective FOP to inform consumers about the nutritional quality of food product
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