SURVEY – The French government is studying the switch to simplified food labeling, using a logo. Several European countries have already implemented this measure, whether it concerns traffic lights or a logo validating the quality of a product.
Within the borders of Europe, one in four food packages has a health claim. Enriched with omega-3, beneficial for digestion, against cholesterol … Whether they relate to nutrition, nutritional content or health itself, they are rarely conveyed by symbols. This approach has been possible since 2014, thanks to the European Inco (Consumer Information) regulation, which aims to simplify nutritional labeling. If France is dragging its feet to switch to the color logo, several countries have already taken the plunge. Focus on three flagship examples in Europe.
Three colors in Great Britain
The model closest to the French method remains the one adopted by the United Kingdom in 2006, validated by the government in June 2013: traffic lights. This system consists of attaching a color, from green to red, to each category of nutrients (calories, fat, saturated fatty acids, salt, sugar). The agro-food industry does not see itself forced into this, but 60% of the food sold in the territory today displays the traffic lights.
“Even Coca-Cola, long opposed to the system, adopted it in September 2015,” said Professor Serge Hercberg, who sees it as a sign of hope. In his eyes, British emulation could just as well be reproduced in France. “Maybe what scares them is that for the first time, a tool characterizes the nutritional quality of food,” he said.
British traffic lights (Source: Ijclark / Flickr)
A tick in the Netherlands
The other models are further from what France wants. In the Netherlands, the government has chosen to support the boat. The algorithm takes into account saturated fatty acids, trans fats, added sugars, salt and fiber for each product. Then he compares the result with the equivalents of the same range. A green check mark indicates the healthiest choice among commodities. A blue checkmark does the same in the snack category, prepared soups, condiments, etc.
The Dutch Choices logos
For their part, the Scandinavian countries have joined forces around a similar logo: the “Nordic Keyhole”. In place in Sweden since 1989, it has since spread to Denmark, Iceland and Norway. The principle is much the same as in the Netherlands, except that instead of displaying a check mark, a green lock is printed on the packaging which received the precious sesame. The measure is a success: 98% of the population is familiar with this system.
The Nordic Keyhole (Johannes Jansson / norden.org)
Read the rest of our survey:
– Food: birth in pain with the 5-color code
– The agri-food parades against the 5-color code
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