That of the nutritional traffic light, a labeling that was launched in France in 2017, is generating much criticism and controversy among agri-food sectors, political parties and public opinion. Thus, producers of olive oil, Iberian ham or cheese have asked to leave the new labeling because they could harm their market share.
Here are the answers from two of the promoters of this nutritional system on the four most important controversies that have arisen in our country.
1. Coca-Cola Zero and Iberian ham cannot be compared
which focuses on the amount of calories, sugars, sodium and saturated fat in food and, through an algorithm, positive and negative points are attributed in relation to the amount of the constituents. Thus, a global nutritional profile of the products is made, which is shown in a graph, like a traffic light, with 5 colors (from green to red), and 5 letters (from A to E).
This weighting by colors or letters does not respond to a universal classification of all products, but only concerns a family of foods. Therefore, customers should know that if Coca-Cola Zero is classified with a letter ‘B’ and olive oil with a letter ‘C’, it does not mean that the soft drink is healthier than fat, what it says is that Coca-Cola Zero is a less harmful soft drink than another of the same family and that olive oil is a less harmful fat than another vegetable.
“The Nutriscore does not say if a food is good or not. It only judges a relative value that indicates whether that product is better or worse than others,” Serge Hercberg, Emeritus Professor of Nutrition at the Sorbonne University in Paris, explained to Agencia EFE. Norte, led by the Nutritional Epidemiology Research Team (EREN) which, together with the French Health Security Agency and the High Council of Public Health, have shaped the Nutriscore traffic light.
2. Olive oil gets a bad mark, but it’s the best of vegetable fats.
The other major controversy that the Minister of Consumption, Alberto Garzón, has had to deal with is the bad grade olive oil received. Thus, the decision was made to remove liquid gold from the label to prevent a possible drop in sales. However, Serge Hercberg explained that the ‘C’ scale for this Spanish product is the best possible classification for added fat, since no other oil has a better category.
“The ‘C’ is not a penalty at all. When the consumer goes to the oil section, they will see that olive oil has the best possible position for vegetable oils,” Hercberg details.
3. Sausages, cheese and Iberian ham: processed foods with a high salt and fat content
After olive oil, the majority of attacks that Nutri-Score has received is from the sausage, cheese and Iberian ham sector. The reason is that these idiosyncratic foods also get bad grades, on the order of ‘D’ to ‘E’.
However, Pilar Galán, a nutritionist, epidemiologist and also a researcher at EREN at the University of Paris, explained in an interview with Servimedia that “it should be noted that cheeses, ham or sausages are not promoted by the Mediterranean recommendations that indicate that they should be consumed in small quantities and/or infrequently, which is consistent with the indication given to these foods by the Nutri-Score classification.Indeed, products ‘D’ and ‘E’ can perfectly well be consumed within the framework of a balanced diet, but in limited quantities/frequency”.
“This product, like the rest of the processed meats, is classified with the letter ‘D’ because, apart from the saturated fats it has, its salt content varies from 2.5 to 5 grams per 100 grams, when the World Organization of Health (WHO) recommends not exceeding 5 grams of salt per day”, explains Serge Hercberg.
4. Nutriscore does not go against the Mediterranean diet
Pilar Galan says that all European nutritionists and, obviously, those who have developed the Nutri-Score, support the Mediterranean diet model, whose health benefits have been widely demonstrated. “Nutriscore is not opposed to the Mediterranean diet, quite the contrary, as perfectly demonstrated by the distribution of Nutriscore in the food groups of the Mediterranean Diet Pyramid,” she says.
Thus, he recalled that the Mediterranean diet is characterized by an abundant consumption of fruits, vegetables, legumes, cereals (especially whole grains), a moderate consumption of fish and a limited consumption of dairy products and a low consumption of meat, sausages and sugary products, fatty and salty and favors olive oil among added fats.
Another argument put forward by the epidemiologist about the consistency of Nutriscore with the Mediterranean diet is the work of a group of Spanish epidemiologists from the University of Navarra, who showed that the consumption of foods with a less favorable classification on the Nutriscore scale was associated with a higher mortality rate.
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