How healthy is this food? The answer to this is increasingly found in the form of the Nutri-Score printed on the packaging. He classifies the ingredients according to how beneficial the sum of the components is for human health. But is that really helpful?
The Nutri-Score helps consumers to identify sugary foods and thus contributes to a healthier diet. This is what scientists from the University of Göttingen report according to a study that was published in the journal “PLOS One”. According to this, the product label, which is voluntary in Germany, counteracts misleading information about sugar.
With statements such as “no additional sugar”, companies often give the impression that products are healthier than they actually are, writes the team led by Kristin Jürkenbeck from the “Marketing for Food and Agricultural Products” chair. The Nutri-Score helps consumers to unmask such inaccurate statements. The Nutri-Score evaluates the amount of sugar, fat, salt, fiber, protein or proportion of fruit and vegetables per 100 grams of a food. The resulting total value is shown on a five-stage scale: from “A” to a dark green field for the most favorable balance via a yellow “C” to a red “E” for the most unfavorable.
For the study, participants were shown three different retail-like products online – a ready-to-eat cappuccino, a chocolate granola and an oat drink. These were each printed differently with Nutri-Score or sugar messages as used by companies. Participants rated products with the company claiming reduced sugar content as healthier than they actually were. This was not the case with the food, some of which also had the Nutri-Score printed on it.
The authors emphasize that high sugar consumption can increase the risk of obesity and other diseases. They are therefore calling for restrictions on misleading sugar claims. If companies provide such information on their products, the Nutri-Score should be mandatory.
The product label is increasingly being used in various European countries. In Germany, it has been possible to use it voluntarily since November 2020. “By August 15, 2022, around 310 German companies with around 590 brands had registered for the Nutri-Score,” said the Federal Ministry of Food. The Nutri-Score is a useful addition, said a spokeswoman for the ministry. The list of ingredients and nutritional value table would enable consumers to identify the types of sugar a food contains.
