Is Nutri-score dead in the water?

The European Commission has refused to confirm or deny whether the rollout out of Nutri-score will be pushed across all Member States or notThe European Commission remains tight-lipped on the future of a mandatory Nutri-score system.

Last week, journalists at a midday press briefing in Brussels pounced on European Commission spokespeople in a bid to understand whether Nutri-score’s rollout had life.

In an awkward exchange, the Commission refused to confirm it would still push for a mandatory system.

Future of Nutri-score debatedThe questions came as leaked Commission documents appeared to suggest the mechanisms around Nutri-score would be difficult to apply across all Member States.

It is understood Commission officials deemed the Nutri-score “too politically sensitive” to be rolled out and enforced across the bloc, reports from Radio France claimed.

Also read → Nutri-score abandoned by European CommissionThis is despite rising obesity levels across the bloc, as well as calls from UNESCO to make the policy mandatory immediately.

Legal experts quickly jumped on the matter, saying this was an admission of failure from the Commission, and any idea of a rollout was all but over.

Who supports Nutri-score?Businesses have frequently hit out at the system, especially as nutritional value assessments changed, Danone being one of the biggest names to do so.

Though science hasn’t been on the side of Nutri-score either, as independent scientists have repeatedly called out the system’s limitations and challenges, specifically around guiding consumers and industry towards healthier choices.

Of course, countries have also refused to adopt Nutri-score, the most notorious being Italy, which has long been a critic.

The system, based on the UK Food Standards Agency’s nutrient profiling standard, was adopted by France, Belgium, Germany, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Spain, Switzerland and Portugal. Several other countries, however, have also opted out.