Danone removes Nutri-Score from its drinkable products
Published: Thursday, Sep 5th 2024, 19:30
Back to Live Feed
French food manufacturer Danone is gradually removing the Nutri-Score nutrition label from its drinkable products from September 2024. The information will also disappear from products sold in Switzerland, as the company announced on Thursday.
According to a revision of the labeling, drinkable milk and plant-based products such as Actimel yoghurts and Alpro drinks will be placed in the same category as soft drinks in future. This leads to "absurd" ratings and is confusing for customers. The changes would give a false picture of the quality of the products, explained Danone.
The Nutri-Score label, developed by the French health authority in collaboration with the food industry and consumer advocates, provides information on the nutritional value of foods. It compares foods within categories (e.g. different types of breakfast cereal) and rates them on a scale from A (most balanced nutritional composition) to E (most unbalanced composition). Calorie content and nutrients such as sugar, salt or saturated fatty acids have a negative effect on the rating, while fiber, protein or the content of fruits, vegetables, nuts, legumes and certain oils have a positive effect.
Danone was one of the first companies to support the introduction of the color rating system in Europe. It was introduced in Switzerland in 2019.
The Nutri-Score is repeatedly criticized. Migros and the milk processor Emmi recently announced that they would no longer use the label in future, partly due to a lack of comparability. Nestlé recently retained the label. The kiosk operator Valora recently started labeling its products with the Nutri-Score.
©Keystone/SDA
English 
German 
French 
Spanish 
Arabic