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The Council of States decided that the Federal Council should create clear framework conditions for the use of Nutri-Score. He fears some food producers could be disadvantaged. What does the rating system do anyway?
Cheese producers and Swiss fruit farmers, among others, have protested. The Nutri-Score is oversimplified, and does not take some important criteria into account or does not take them enough into account. As a result, natural products are sometimes rated worse than highly processed foods with many substitutes and additives. The letter A on a green background is desirable, meaning “balanced”, while the E on deep red for “unbalanced” is unpopular.
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It is a controversial traffic light for food: the Nutri-Score classifies food from A to E and is intended to help consumers to eat healthier.
imago images/Markus Mainka
The responsible Federal Office for Food Safety (BLV) has recognized the problem. Liliane Bruggmann heads the nutrition department there. Nutri-Score is based on an algorithm. “The algorithm is not set in stone,” she says.
Fix the Nutri-Score algorithm
In fact, Switzerland, along with other European countries, is working on correcting this algorithm. For example, artificial sweeteners would now also be included in the calculation for sweet drinks. This has consequences for a well-known drink. “According to the calculations we made, a Coke Zero is downgraded from a B score to a C score.”
In return, the Swiss fruit growers should be happy. They complained that the apple spritzer was rated too badly. According to the latest calculations, the apple spritzer score has been upgraded from a D to a C, according to Bruggmann. The bodies involved still have to decide on these changes.
Nutri-Score is a guide and compares the quality of nutritional values within a group of foods, explains Liliane Bruggmann. So you can’t compare yoghurt with ready-made pizza, but different yoghurt brands with each other and the pizzas with each other.
Healthier eating through Nutri-Score
Undine Lehmann is a nutritionist at the Bern University of Applied Sciences. She has contributed to a report on Nutri-Score and believes it is helpful. “There are studies that show that the Nutri-Score can help consumers to better assess the quality of a food and thus eat healthier.”
The Nutri-Score cannot take into account all criteria, such as the sustainability or origin of a product. But he lists ingredients that could lead to diseases.
The classification sometimes means that a naturally manufactured product can receive a lower rating than an industrially manufactured one. «Cheese is cheese, regardless of whether it is a natural product or is manufactured industrially. It’s just rich in fat and rich in salt,” says Liliane Bruggmann.
However, Nutri-Score is not a ban. It is an addition to the Swiss food pyramid, which shows which foods are healthier than others.
However, the Council of States is skeptical and is demanding a legal framework for the Nutri-Score from the Federal Council. Next, the National Council deals with the issue.