What is the NutriScore?

It's about a classification system for food products depending on whether they are more or less healthy, so it is decisive as a decision tool when purchasing any processed food in a supermarket.

The implementation of the NutriScore front labeling officially has been a voluntary decision in Spain in 2021 (and mandatory in the EU from 2022). It has been one of the most controversial issues affecting the public health of all consumers.

This controversy is also influenced by the formulation of the algorithm that determines which products are healthier than others, since the food industry has participated directly, therefore there are conflicts of interest in relation to its implementation. Therefore, it is important to know what its classification is based on and in which cases its application can be useful:

What is the NutriScore ranking based on?

NutriScore is a gradual system that aims to identify the nutritional quality of food products with a code similar to a traffic light with five colors and five letters (A / B / C / D / E), being A (green) a food considered "healthy" and E (red) a very unhealthy food.

• Green (A), very healthy
• Light green (B), healthy
• Yellow (C), neither good nor bad
• Orange (D), unhealthy
• Red (E), unhealthy

This classification is made based on the percentage of calories, saturated fat, sugar, salt, fiber, and protein in the food. The most debated question about this classification method is if it really is reliable the information it offers.

The algorithm that decides to what degree each product is located is determined from mathematical formulas that take into account the nutrient ratio of the feed concrete (amount of fiber, salt, saturated fat, sugar, calories, etc.).

However, these formulas are totally unknown to the consumer so it is difficult to know if the product in hand is really high or low in sugars, fats, etc. Therefore, your purchase decision will be based on the color code that gives relative but not objective information about the healthiness of the product. In this way, this system, in its beginnings, penalized extra virgin olive oil with the letter E due to its contribution in saturated fat (14%) while it gives a B to a light cola soft drink by not adding fat, sugar or salt.

Given this data, it is normal that there is a stir about its reliability since, as we well know, it is considered a much healthier food than any light soda.

How to interpret and apply the NutriScore system?

One of the drawbacks of this labeling occurs when we want to compare products from different categories with each other since, as we have seen with the example in the previous section, it is not a useful tool or created for this purpose.

So that, will not provide us with objective information if we hesitate between buying a dairy product or a product made with cereals, for example.

In fact, this system has been created in order to:

• Encourage people to improve their products.
• See which foods are healthier within the same category (which yogurts are healthier than others, for example).
• Determine which food is healthiest by comparing different brands of that type of food.

For all the aforementioned, the message that must be transmitted to the general population is that this system is made to compare products of the same category with each other; In other words, if our intention is to buy cereals, it will give us a relative classification based on the same food group (considering cereals with category B more "healthy" than cereals with category E).

Corrections and conclusions

• Due to the inconsistencies that this classification has presented, it has been considered that should be excluded from the system NutriScore those products containing only one ingredient for what has been said, it will not be implanted in fresh foods or with a single ingredient such as oil, milk, eggs or honey because it is inherently healthier than any other ultra-processed product.
• Another of his mistakes is the approach based on the reductionism nutritional (determining the healthiness of a food only by its content in certain macronutrients) that can create a lot of confusion for the consumer.
• What's more, does not take into account that there are product categories that should be avoided for its lousy nutritional formulation and for being harmful to our health such as pastries, alcohol, or ultra-processed products in general. In fact, what would be useful would be a classification such as the one applied by the Pan American Health Organization with the Nova System, in which products are classified according to their degree of processing. Thus, when it comes to choosing healthier foods, it is better to choose precisely those that do NOT need labeling and that, therefore, are not considered processed: fruits, vegetables, vegetables, fresh meat and fish, fresh legumes, nuts, etc.
• On the other hand, it is more than justified that reducing the consumption of unhealthy foods is key to improving the health of the population, so an intuitive nutritional labeling that allows the consumer to detect whether a food is healthy or not together with the regulation of advertising and a policy that adjusts the prices of healthier foods (so that they are available to all classes social) would be three measures that would facilitate this process.

Finally, we must not forget that, even containing certain errors in its formulation, the NutriScore system is a tool that, well applied, can have some usefulness and this is shown by some studies that conclude that its participants improved by 9.3% the nutritional quality of the average shopping basket.

First of all, do not forget to consult a nutrition specialist, such as the ones offered in your medical chart, since he is the one who can best solve your questions about food issues.

CALCULATE YOUR PRICE

• The message to convey to the general population is that this system is made to compare products of the same category with each other.
• Said labeling will not be implemented in fresh or single ingredient foods such as oil, milk, eggs or honey as it is inherently healthier than any other ultra-processed product.
• Even containing certain errors in its formulation, the NutriScore system is a tool that, well applied, can have some utility

Judith Torrell

Diploma in Human Nutrition

Clinical Nutrition Specialist