The food logo Nutri-Score will change some calculations for drinks. This should lead to greater compliance with nutritional recommendations, as the Federal Ministry of Agriculture announced on Monday in Berlin. The Nutri-Score is considered an aid to purchasing healthier products. A steering committee had decided on the scientifically developed changes to beverages with a low sugar content and with sweeteners, as well as to milk beverages.
In concrete terms, milk, milk and plant-based beverages are also to be rated as beverages in the future and no longer as general foods. Beverages with little sugar should achieve a more favorable rating and can thus be better differentiated in comparison to drinks with a lot of sugar.
In order not to provide incentives for the use of sweeteners, this should be taken into account with “negative points”, which means that products in a category perform worse. Water should continue to be the only drink to be able to receive the best A rating. The name of the label developed in France means something like “nutrition score”. In addition to sugar, fat and salt, it also includes recommended elements such as roughage, protein or proportions of fruit and vegetables.
Points are awarded for the quantities per 100 grams. The result is a single overall value, which is shown on a five-stage scale: from “A” on a dark green field for the most favorable balance, through a yellow “C” to a red “E” for the least favourable. The applicable field will be highlighted.
In Germany, the updated terms of use should come into force on December 31, 2023, as the ministry explained. Until the end of 2025, there will be a transitional period for registered companies to change the labeling so that they do not have to destroy goods or packaging that have already been produced.
Providers can use the logo on a voluntary basis, but then have to comply with specifications. According to the ministry, around 700 companies with more than 1,000 brands have now registered for use on the German market.