Adjustments Needed for the Use of Nutri-Score in the Netherlands: Lack of Selectivity and Conformity with Dutch Dietary Guidelines in Four Product Groups

Tongeren, Charlotte van; Jansen, Léon

doi:10.11648/j.ijnfs.20200902.11

Cited by 19 publications

(13 citation statements)

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“…The interpretation of sufficient discrimination differs, however. Van Tongeren et al [27] concluded that Nutri-Score was not sufficiently discriminating, as not all five Nutri-Score categories were observed in a certain food subgroup [27]. They found a range of Nutri-Score categories for ready meals (A-E), soups (A-C, majority C), meal sauces (A-D, majority C) and cheese (A-E, majority D), comparable to our results.…”

Section: Nutri-score's Ability To Stimulate Food Reformulationsupporting

confidence: 85%

Evaluation of Nutri-Score in Relation to Dietary Guidelines and Food Reformulation in The Netherlands

et al. 2021

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An unhealthy dietary pattern is an important risk factor for non-communicable diseases. Front-of-Pack nutritional labels such as Nutri-Score can be used to improve food choices. In addition, products can be improved through reformulation. The current study investigates to what extent Nutri-Score aligns with the Dutch Health Council dietary guidelines and whether it can be used as an incentive for reformulation. Nutri-Score calculations were based on the Dutch Branded Food database (2018). The potential shift in Nutri-Score was calculated with product improvement scenarios. The Nutri-Score classification is in line with these dietary guidelines: increase the consumption of fruit and vegetables, pulses, and unsalted nuts. It is, however, less in line with the recommendations to limit (dairy) drinks with added sugar, reduce the consumption of red meat and replace refined cereal products with whole-grain products. The scenario analyses indicated that a reduction in sodium, saturated fat or sugars resulted in a more favourable Nutri-Score in a large variety of food groups. However, the percentage of products with an improved Nutri-Score varied greatly between the different food groups. Alterations to the algorithm may strengthen Nutri-Score in order to help consumers with their food choices.

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Section: Nutri-score's Ability To Stimulate Food Reformulationsupporting

confidence: 85%

Evaluation of Nutri-Score in Relation to Dietary Guidelines and Food Reformulation in The Netherlands

et al. 2021

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“…Consistency among labelling profiles is vital in order to provide unambiguous information to consumers [50,51]. For example, the NS for fats and cheeses is mentioned as being of concern in some countries, and some countries point out inconsistencies with their national recommendations [28,52]. Since only a few products in these categories can have a grade of A or B (e.g., cottage cheese), they mention the risk that consumers would interpret such food groups as unhealthy.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Evaluation of the Ability of Nutri-Score to Discriminate the Nutritional Quality of Prepacked Foods Using a Sale-Weighting Approach

Hafner

Pravst

2021

Foods

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The implementation of mandatory front-of-pack nutrition labelling is currently being discussed in the European Union (EU). The Nutri-Score (NS) was developed in France to empower consumers to make informed and healthier food choices. Based on strong evidence of its efficacy in supporting healthy choices, it has already been implemented for voluntary use in some EU member states, making it relevant to developing a harmonised EU scheme. This study aimed to evaluate the NS’s discriminating ability on products available in the food supply and compare it with Slovenian national nutritional recommendations based on an adapted WHO Europe (WHOE) profile. The innovative approach of the study is that we used sale-weighting to address the public health importance of available foods, with consideration of market share. We profiled 15,822 products available in the Slovenian food supply in 2017. The NS had a high ability to discriminate food products based on nutritional composition. Products that are generally encouraged in dietary recommendations (fruits, vegetables, cereals) had, in most cases, better NS grades than less favourable products (confectionery, snack foods, added fats), which is also in line with the national nutrition policy programme. The discriminating ability of the model was also shown within food (sub)categories (e.g., plain and flavoured yoghurt). Sale-weighting showed that offerings do not always reflect sales. Major differences between offerings and sales were observed for beverages, dairy, fruits/vegetables, and edible oils/emulsions. Additionally, sale-weighted distribution tended towards less favourable nutritional composition, particularly in categories with overall smaller offerings of products with favourable composition. The NS showed moderate agreement with the WHOE profile (κ = 0.57); differences were particularly observed in flavoured yoghurts, juices, cooking oils, and cheeses. Modelling the operation of the NS with representative real-life food samples provided insight valuable for developing and implementing harmonised mandatory front-of-pack nutrition labelling in Europe.

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“…Therefore, although it is claimed that nutrient profiling systems are helpful to assess the nutritional quality of foods at first sight, summarising nutritional information in a single score or grade can lead to misinterpretations [ 28 ]. For example, in a study conducted on Dutch products, the Nutri-Score system failed to properly classify all ready meals, more than half of them being classified in class A or B even when they contained high values of salt [ 29 ]. The present study suggests that the SAIN,LIM and the Nutri-Score are insufficiently informative to be used alone as reliable criteria for choosing school food supplies or establishing school dietary guidelines.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Nutritional Quality of Vegetarian and Non-Vegetarian Dishes at School: Are Nutrient Profiling Systems Sufficiently Informative?

Poinsot

Vieux

Dubois³

et al. 2020

Nutrients

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In France, school canteens must offer a vegetarian meal at least once per week. The objective was to evaluate the nutritional quality of school main dishes. A database of main dishes served in primary schools was first split into non-vegetarian (n = 669) and vegetarian (n = 315) categories. The latter has been divided into three sub-categories: vegetarian dishes containing cheese, vegetarian dishes containing eggs and/or dairy products but no cheese and vegetarian dishes without any eggs, cheese or other dairy products (vegan). Categories and sub-categories were compared based on nutrient adequacy ratios for “protective” nutrients (proteins, fibres, vitamins, minerals, essential fatty acids), the contents of nutrients to be limited (saturated fatty acids (SFA), sodium, free sugars) and on two nutrient profiling systems (SAIN,LIM and Nutri-Score). The vegetarian category and the non-vegetarian category displayed “adequate” levels (≥5% adequacy for 100 kcal) on average for almost all “protective” nutrients. The three sub-categories of vegetarian dishes displayed good SAIN,LIM and Nutri-Score profiles on average, although key nutrients were lacking (vitamin B12, vitamin D and DHA) or were present in insufficient amounts (vitamin B2 and calcium) in the vegan sub-category. The sub-category containing eggs and/or dairy products other than cheese was a good compromise, as it provided protective nutrients associated with eggs and fresh dairy products, while the sub-category containing cheese provided higher levels of SFA. Nutrient profile algorithms are insufficiently informative to assess the nutritional quality of school dishes.

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Adjustments Needed for the Use of Nutri-Score in the Netherlands: Lack of Selectivity and Conformity with Dutch Dietary Guidelines in Four Product Groups

Cited by 19 publications

References 0 publications

Evaluation of Nutri-Score in Relation to Dietary Guidelines and Food Reformulation in The Netherlands

Evaluation of Nutri-Score in Relation to Dietary Guidelines and Food Reformulation in The Netherlands

Evaluation of the Ability of Nutri-Score to Discriminate the Nutritional Quality of Prepacked Foods Using a Sale-Weighting Approach

Nutritional Quality of Vegetarian and Non-Vegetarian Dishes at School: Are Nutrient Profiling Systems Sufficiently Informative?

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