France endorses revised Nutri-Score as EU debate persists

FRANCE – The French government has officially approved the revised Nutri-Score to address rising obesity rates and related health issues despite debates within the European Commission.

According to the French government, one out of every two French citizens is currently classified as overweight or obese, which is concerning considering the link to severe conditions such as cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, and certain cancers.

To address this, on March 14, 2025, ministers from various departments, including Health, Agriculture, Economy, and Commerce, signed the decree revising the calculation rules of the original 2017 Nutri-Score.

The revised system, now known as Nutri-Score 2.0, adjusts the classification of the nutritional value of food products from A to E, where A denotes the healthiest choices, and E is the least healthy. These adjustments make the Nutri-Score harsher on various processed foods based on recent scientific studies related to health risks.

Although the new algorithm was applied to the Nutri-Score calculation on 31 December 2023, there is a two-year transition period for foods already in the market.

Dr Grégory Emery, the Director-General of Health, supported the changes, saying, “This new system is truly a tool for public health. It has reached people, influencing purchasing behaviours. We cannot treat the obesity crisis as if it does not exist. Therefore, reforms like the Nutri-Score are fundamental.”

Those in support of the Nutri-Score system view these modifications as beneficial for consumers and a good challenge to food producers to improve the nutritional quality of their products.

Conversely, a few objections were raised before the decree’s signing.

Minister Annie Genevard, responsible for Agriculture, publicly criticised the new calculation methods, voicing fears about the potential negative repercussions for France’s local food products. Her concerns, particularly for cherished French specialities like cheeses and charcuterie, highlighted the risk of diminishing consumer confidence and sales due to “negative scoring”.

Reassuring the agro-food sector, the government declared its intent to remain vigilant about potential side effects of the revised Nutri-Score on products known for their French craftsmanship. They committed to studying how the new scoring system could affect public health and traditional food industries.

Updates in the revised Nutri-Score

The update to Nutri-Score 2.0 aims to achieve several objectives, including improvement of the differentiation between high-fibre whole-grain bread and white bread, vegetable oils, products based on their sugar content (especially those with high sugar content) and products based on their salt content.

Additionally, the revision addresses distinctions between red meat and poultry, beverages with respect to their sugar content, and milk in terms of saturated fatty acids and calorific value. It also enhances the evaluation of milk-based beverages in terms of sugars.

Nutri-Score’s reception, at a glance

This initiative is primarily voluntary for food manufacturers, leading to approximately 1,400 businesses employing this labelling system across France.

In the UK, the system has been adopted by Belgium, Germany, Spain, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Portugal and Luxembourg.

However, others, like the Italian government, have openly called out the labelling system, claiming it discriminates against their traditional meals, threatening their cultural economy.

Meanwhile, the European Commission refrained from confirming support for Nutri-Score at a recent press briefing.

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