The effects of the new Nutri-Score were not long in coming. This rainbow labeling from green to red that classifies food products from A to E according to their nutritional quality is now well known to consumers and manufacturers alike. But the first version of the indicator implemented in 2017 was revised at the beginning of the year. An update that mainly concerned drinks. And as was to be expected, this revision has caused discontent.
The Danone group has just announced that it will remove the Nutri-Score from the packaging of its dairy and plant-based drinkable products with immediate effect. These types of foods belonged to the solid food category. The scientific committee behind the new calculation has moved them to the drinks category, where only water can boast an A. Skimmed and semi-skimmed milk now inherit a B.
Danone questions the methodology used
The withdrawal by Danone concerns the brands Actimel, Danonino, Danone, Activia and Hi-Pro, i.e. five references in the multinational’s catalogue which includes twenty-seven. The group questions the methodology used to review the ratings. “It provides an erroneous vision of the nutritional quality of drinkable dairy products,” says a spokesperson. “And it does not support reformulation efforts and investments, and therefore causes confusion among consumers.”
Until now, Actimel drinking yogurt had a very good B rating. However, with the new formula, it has gone down to D and even E for the multi-fruit version. An incomprehensible downgrade for Danone, which was a pioneer in displaying the Nutri-Score when it was introduced and which denounces the difference in rating that now exists between its edible yogurts and their liquid versions. “Our Danonino drinking yogurt for children has been downgraded to D like a sugary soda,” laments a spokesperson for the multinational, who points out that its version consumed with a spoon “keeps its B with similar nutritional values.”
“A posture above all marketing”
An argument that is refuted by the nutritionist who created the first version of the Nutri-Score, professor at the Sorbonne Paris Nord, Serge Hercberg. “The amount of sugar is similar,” he acknowledges. “But the drinkable version is not consumed in the same way as a regular yogurt, often outside of meals, and can lead to overconsumption among children or adolescents.”
The specialist, who points out that we are still talking about foods “with 10 g of sugar per liter”, defends the work of his colleagues, members of the scientific committee who carried out the revision of the Nutri-Score “independently”. According to him, by deciding to withdraw the latter, Danone but also the Ecotone group, owner of Bjorg which also opted for the same strategy a few months ago, are taking “a marketing stance above all”. “They keep the rating when it suits them.”
A display that is currently optional
For its part, the consumer association Foodwatch speaks of “an unacceptable step backwards” on the part of the French food group. “Let Danone stop making us believe that it is concerned about the health of consumers,” dares Audrey Morice, the organization’s campaign manager.
This episode will revive the debate around harmonised labelling at the European level, which Danone is also demanding, but in a “scientifically supported” manner. For the moment, six countries outside France have adopted it, including Germany, Belgium, Spain, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and Switzerland. But Italy is resisting and Portugal has abandoned it.
The decision of the European agri-food heavyweight also raises the question of the optional nature of the Nutri-Score. Currently, only 26% of products on the shelves display it. A lack of constraint regularly denounced by consumer protection associations. “It is the customer who is ultimately most penalized with a lack of information,” denounces Serge Hercberg on this subject.