The Mais Nutri-Score movement has just launched a nationwide campaign under the slogan "Simplify your diet". Aldi, Auchan, Danone, Deco Proteste, Nestlé and Jerónimo Martins have joined forces in this initiative, which aims to raise awareness among the Portuguese population about the importance of evaluating the nutritional quality of food, informing them about the existence of a simplified nutritional labeling system, Nutri-Score.
Nutri-Score is intended for use with all processed foods and (non-alcoholic) beverages and helps differentiate the nutritional qualities of different foods within the same category. According to a study published in the scientific journal Nutrients, it is considered the most effective system for conveying information about the nutritional quality of foods, thus helping to identify the healthiest options.
Some studies show that most consumers cannot understand and interpret food labels, particularly their nutritional information. “ It is essential that a labeling system be adopted that simplifies this information. Nutri-Score is precisely a tool created to help consumers understand the message, helping them to make the best decisions in a conscious way ,” explains Dulce Ricardo, coordinator of the food area at Deco Proteste.
Nutri score
Nutri-Score also helps consumers adopt a more balanced diet and promotes the nutritional reformulation of products by manufacturers. It is an intuitive scheme, easy and quick to understand, intended to be accessible to everyone. It is present on the front of packaging and consists of a five-color scale, each corresponding to a letter: dark green (A), light green (B), yellow (C), orange (D), and red (E).
By providing simple and immediate information about the nutritional quality of a food, Nutri-Score facilitates the comparison of products in the same category and eliminates the need for exhaustive interpretation of complex labels. Foods classified as A and B can be consumed more regularly, while those classified between C and E should be consumed more moderately.
Nutri-Score has already been adopted voluntarily in several European countries, such as Germany, Belgium, Spain, France, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, and Switzerland. In Portugal, several companies have also voluntarily adopted the use of this simplified nutritional labeling system.
