A blow to the Nutri-Score in Italy. Across the Alps, agricultural unions and food companies are fighting tirelessly against the nutrition labeling system and have just won a battle. In a decision issued in early August, the Italian competition authority (ACGM) required three foreign companies, including the French distributor Carrefour, to modify the packaging of products displaying the Nutri-Score.
For the Italian authority, in the absence of European legislation on the matter, there is no reason to prefer Nutri-Score to another nutritional labeling system. Above all, he believes that it is potentially misleading for the consumer, because it was developed “based on an algorithm and scientific evaluations that are not universally recognized” and that it “does not take into account nutritional needs and profiles”. being linked to 100 grams of product and not “to a portion of consumption”.
Specifically, Carrefour will no longer be able to display the Nutri-Score on own-brand products ordered in Italy and distributed in the country or abroad, but also on those that benefit from Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) labels, Protected Geographical Indication (PGI) and Traditional Specialty Guaranteed (TSG). The distributor will no longer be able to place the logo on Italian gastronomy products, such as cured meats or cheeses, produced in Italy or elsewhere.
Waiting for Brussels
“Carrefour Italia will continue to include in its assortment a limited selection of own-brand products” shown by the Nutri-Score, marketed in Italy by Interdis, the group’s purchasing company, specifies Carrefour Italia with BFM Business. But these products “will be accompanied by an information campaign,” adds the company, through posters in stores, labels on the shelves or on its website, as required by the competition authority.
The transalpine decision is not a surprise. The AGPM investigation dates back several months, seized by the main Italian agricultural union, ConfAgricoltura – Spanish fishing giant Pescanova and British cereal brand Weetabix are also affected by a similar decision. But the end of Nutri-Score is not yet here: the European Commission expects nutrition labeling to be mandatory by the end of the year.
Several countries, including France and Germany, have already adopted the Nutri-Score, but several other Member States, led by Italy, oppose it and defend other logos.
Source: BFM TV
