• The draft law for the introduction of "Nutri-Score" labels will stimulate the agri-food industry to offer the market products with increased nutritional quality.
Consumers in Romania will be able to more easily choose the optimal products for their health, if the law on the introduction of Nutri-Score labels is adopted. This bill was submitted by Adrian Wiener, USR deputy and doctor. The use of the so-called "food traffic light" it is already being used successfully in several European countries, and the positive results have already started to be seen.
Food: friend or foe
MP Adrian Wiener declares: "Food can be an ally or an enemy in the face of cardiovascular diseases, diabetes or obesity. And Nutri-Score labeling, free and voluntary, can be of real use in informing the consumer about the nutritional quality of food products, so that he can choose foods that are better for his health. Introduced in France in 2016, the system is now implemented in several European states. In France, after three years of implementation, the results were particularly encouraging: more than 500 producers had opted for product labeling, and more than 50% of the French declared that they had changed at least one eating habit for the better".
What is "Nutri-Score"
"Nutri-Score" is an additional label that conveys to the consumer, in a simplified manner, information about the nutritional qualities of the chosen product. The "Nutri-Score" system aims to facilitate the choice of healthy foods in order to limit cardiovascular diseases, obesity and diabetes. This system also aims to stimulate the agri-food industry in order to increase the nutritional quality of the products offered for consumption.
"Nutri-Score" does not divide foods into healthy or unhealthy, but only helps the consumer to make the best choices for a balanced diet.
How to transmit information via "Nutri-Score"
The "Nutri-Score" measurements refer to 100g or 100ml of the product and take into account both the fiber, protein, oilseed or fruit/vegetable content, as well as the energy value, salt, sugar or saturated fat content .
5 colors and 5 letters (from A to E) are used: dark green, respectively the letter A, represents products with the best nutritional value, and red, the letter E, indicates products with a lower nutritional quality. The colors in between, as well as the letters B, C and D, show a content with an intermediate nutritional value.
According to studies carried out in European states that have already implemented the "Nutri-Score" system, the nutritional quality of food purchased by consumers has increased by 10%.
The "Nutri-Score" system is successfully used in France, Germany, Belgium, Spain, Holland, Luxembourg, Switzerland and Poland.
Article written by Gabriela Dan, Editor of Arta Albă
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