Nutri-Score: This is what the color scale really says about food

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Almost half of adults are too fat! Obesity is a growing problem in our society. According to the Federal Office for Public Health, approximately 42 percent of the adult population in Switzerland is overweight, of whom 11 percent are obese, that is, significantly overweight. Approximately 15 percent of children and teenagers are overweight or obese.

Being overweight is a risk factor for cardiovascular disease, diabetes and some types of cancer. In our rapidly changing world, many people cite a lack of time for healthy eating as the cause of obesity: And that’s exactly where Nutri-Score aims to help.

Frozen pizza with green “A” – how does it work?

Nutri-Score is a color scale that aims to make shopping easier. Idea: You should be able to understand at first glance which product is right for a balanced diet. The letters “A” to “E” on the front of many foods now show how balanced a product is. So how is it that chocolate muesli is suddenly rated a green “A” and fruit yogurt a big, fat, red “E”?

The reason for this is simple: the purpose of Nutri-Score is not to compare apples and pears, but simply to compare products within a category or product type to each other. In other words: If you want to buy ready-made pizza, using the color code you can quickly find out which of the ready-made pizzas has the most balanced nutritional composition – hence even a high-calorie ready-made pizza. A green letter “A” may be found on the pizza’s packaging.

Proteins and vegetables are considered “green” foods

According to the Federal Bureau of Food Safety and Veterinary Affairs (BLV), the Nutri-Score is determined using a scientifically validated formula. We always assume that a product is 100 grams or 100 milliliters. Recommended foods will be predominantly green, while those that should be consumed in moderate amounts will be predominantly red. These are assigned to scale: from “A” for balanced to “E” for one-sided and therefore unbalanced composition.

Foods such as nuts, fiber, protein, legumes, vegetables and some oils are classified as green. Foods with high energy content, that is, many calories, are marked in red. Sugar, salt and saturated fatty acids also fall into the red category.

Coca-Cola beats orange juice

The formula has already produced surprising results: For example, orange juice and apple juice are rated worse than Coca-Cola because the latter contains less sugar. Some people are also probably starting to be suspicious of Emmi Caffè Latte: The sweetened instant coffees had a green label for a while, but that changed after the media backlash. Nutri-Score committees finally decided that milk drinks should no longer be classified as foods but as beverages—since their Nutri-Scores are calculated differently, some caffè latte products fell into the “C” category or even red areas. D” and “E”.

«Nutri-Score evaluates only processed foods. “Products without a nutrition chart, such as fresh fruit and vegetables, cannot be labeled with Nutri-Score,” the BLV explains on its website. The authority emphasizes: Even foods with a green Nutri-Score cannot be consumed without restrictions – just as the color code red should not be seen as a ban : “The label only helps you choose the healthier version of the same products.”

Nutri-Score is optional

Food labeling is carried out by food manufacturers; Currently it is still optional. A proposal by an SP politician to declare color coding mandatory in Switzerland in 2019 was rejected by the Federal Council and ultimately withdrawn in 2021.

While the state government sees the prevention of non-communicable diseases as an important goal of health policy and is committed to a healthy and balanced diet, it wants to keep Nutri-Score labeling on a voluntary basis, as in the rest of Europe. basis. This is due to ongoing debates about a uniform and effective system for classifying foods, and the Federal Council also states in its response to the 2019 motion that: “A mandatory labeling system could also lead to technical barriers to trade.”

Source : Blick