Seven EU countries, including the Netherlands, are threatening to go their own way with the introduction of the food label Nutriscore developed by France. Several Mediterranean EU countries and also European agricultural associations oppose the French label. They prefer the Italian Nutrinform, which is already in use in Italy.
Because there have long been major disagreements between the EU countries' agriculture ministers regarding the two measurement systems, the European Commission is currently conducting a "public survey" on the various options. Those seven countries do not want to wait for this and say they intend to make Nutriscore mandatory on all food and beverage products in their countries.
Belgium, Germany, France, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Spain, and Switzerland announced an internationally coordinated collaboration at the end of last week to facilitate the use of the Nutriscore food label on the front of packaging.
Nutriscore is a color-coded label on food packaging that indicates the nutritional value of food and drinks. Its purpose is to help consumers choose healthier products. As part of the Farm-to-Fork (F2F) initiative, the European Commission aims to submit a proposal for EU-wide food labeling by the end of 2022.
EU member states have been debating the issue for more than a year. A group of countries led by Italy rejected the French Nutri-Score late last year because it allegedly does not take into account "regional baking and eating habits," referring to the high use of figs and baking oil. In the French measurement system, these receive the highest ("unhealthy") D-score. This could also apply to more southern European oils.
According to European Commissioner for Agriculture Janusz Wojciechowski, all countries agree that a labeling system must be scientifically substantiated. The European farmers' lobby COPA-COGECA has joined the Italian protests against the French Nutri-Score system advocated by France. European consumer organizations, on the other hand, do support the French label.