Performance of the Front-of-Pack Nutrition Label Nutri-Score to Discriminate the Nutritional Quality of Foods Products: A Comparative Study across 8 European Countries.

Louise Dréano-Trécant,Mathilde Touvier,Serge Hercberg,Juliette Soudon,Chantal Julia,Pilar Galan,Morgane Fialon,Manon Egnell,Emmanuelle Kesse-Guyot

doi:10.3390/nu12051303

Abstract

In Europe, discussions are currently ongoing to harmonize front-of-pack nutritional labelling, while some countries have adopted or are considering implementing the Nutri-Score. However, its adaptability to multiple nutritional contexts in Europe requires further investigation. This study aimed to evaluate the applicability of the Nutri-Score in various European countries, regarding its ability to discriminate the nutritional quality of foods and its consistency with national dietary recommendations. The European Food Information Resource (EUROFIR) nutritional composition databases from eight European countries (Finland, France, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Sweden, and Switzerland) were used. The distribution of foods across the Nutri-Score classes within food groups was assessed, as well as the discriminating performance of the label, and the adequacy of nutritional recommendations. The Nutri-Score demonstrated high discriminating ability for all food groups, with similar trends in the eight countries, and consistency with nutritional recommendations. For instance, fruit and vegetable products were mainly classified in the two healthiest Nutri-Score categories, while sugar and animal fat products were mainly classified in the two less healthy categories of the Nutri-Score. Our results support the fact that the Nutri-Score would be a relevant tool to discriminate the nutritional quality of products within and across relevant food groups in different European countries, with consistency with nutritional recommendations.

Highlights

In 2017, the European region was the most affected World Health Organization (WHO) region by non-communicable diseases, accounting for approximately 77% of the burden of disease and 88%of deaths [1]
The distribution of foods within the Nutri-Score classes showed a good performance of the front-of-pack nutrition labels (FoPLs) to discriminate the nutritional quality of products within main food groups and subgroups, and across relevant food groups in terms of purchase, use or consumption, with high consistency with official dietary guidelines in the eight countries tested—Finland, France, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Sweden and Switzerland
These results are consistent with other studies using food composition databases of manufactured foods from the French and German markets, validating the ability of the Nutri-Score to discriminate the nutritional quality of products in various sociocultural contexts [33,35]

Summary

Introduction

In 2017, the European region was the most affected World Health Organization (WHO) region by non-communicable diseases (e.g., diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, cancer, chronic respiratory diseases and mental disorders), accounting for approximately 77% of the burden of disease and 88%of deaths [1]. Despite nutritional recommendations and the various health actions taken by public authorities at national, European and international levels, the mortality rate and prevalence of these diseases continue to rise [3]. In this context, new public health approaches have been set up, including notably the implementation of nutritional information systems on the front of pack of food products. The implementation of front-of-pack nutrition labels (FoPLs) has been identified to be of major interest by expert committees in charge of nutrition labelling policies in many countries, by the WHO [4] and the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development [5]. FoPLs aim to improve the nutritional status of populations, both by encouraging consumers to make healthier food choices at the point of purchase [6,7,8], and by enticing manufacturers to improve the nutritional quality of food offered [9,10]

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