An online petions calls for a labeling system on food packaging, indicating the nutritional quality of products.
Clearer colored logos on food packaging for better nutrition. It is the theme of a petition online launched by learned societies, professional health associations and consumer associations. The signatories defend a labeling system indicating the nutritional quality of the product.
The authors of the petition reacted to resistance from lobbies in the agri-food industry regarding a report submitted last January to the Minister of Health. Professor Serge Hercberg – who wrote the first part of the report devoted to nutritional prevention – proposes in particular “to help consumers to orient their choices at the time of the act of purchase towards food of better nutritional quality and to reduce the pressure from marketing towards the consumption of foods of poorer nutritional quality ”
From A to G and from green to red
Overweight affects more and more people. It is responsible for many chronic diseases, such as cardiovascular disease, diabetes, cancer.
Simple labeling of food products would allow consumers to differentiate between several types of products in the same shelf, but also to differentiate between brands for the same products. Today, nutritional information is mentioned in very small form with often very complicated terms.
The petition proposes to remedy this problem with a unique colored logo on the front of the packaging to characterize the nutritional quality of the products and make them easier to read.
Points would therefore be awarded for energy density, the amount of sugar, saturated fatty acids, salt, as well as the amount of fiber, protein or fruits and vegetables in the product.
Clearly, the better the quality of the product, the lower its score and vice versa. From the score, it would be determined in which color category the product falls. The logos would go from A to G, and from green to red, through yellow and fuchsia red. A Green A would mean it is a product of good nutritional quality, and a fuchsia pink D would mean the product is of poorer nutritional quality.
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