Portugal latest EU country to adopt Nutriscore food traffic-light labelling system

Portugal became the eighth European country to adopt the front-of-pack labelling Nutriscore on Friday (5 April) after the European Commission failed to unveil a proposal for an EU-wide model. 

The new law makes Nutriscore the only official food labelling system in Portugal, replacing several schemes developed in recent years by companies operating in the food sector.

The government has described the move as a “public health measure to promote healthy eating,” with adoption remaining voluntary for companies.

Nutriscore, first introduced in France in 2017, is a traffic-light labelling system that ranks foods according to their nutritional value – ranging from A-green, indicating the healthiest grade, to E-red – calculated on a standard portion.

The algorithm that calculated nutritional values underwent a revision at the end of 2023 to include stricter parameters for milk and breakfast cereal products, while olive oil and other fats of vegetable origin are ranked higher than in the previous version.

Portuguese authorities have hailed the system as “scientifically robust” following the first algorithm update.

“It has been implemented in a wide range of European Union countries and is already used by several national economic operators in the food sector,” reads the text published in Portugal’s official journal.

“As such, it is positioned as the simplified nutritional labelling system with the best conditions to be adopted in Portugal.”

The legislative text was approved on 22 March by the former Portuguese administration, led by socialist Prime Minister António Costa, and published on 4 April.

Long-standing controversy

The French labelling system has been gaining traction across Europe, and is already in place in Belgium, Germany, Spain, Switzerland, the Netherlands, and, most recently, Portugal.

However, the potential adoption of Nutriscore at the EU level remains a highly divisive issue.

In 2020, a Commission study concluded that systems using colour-coding in combination with a grade, such as Nutriscore, were likely to inspire an upcoming European Commission proposal for a unified labelling scheme, initially due by the end of 2022.

But the new EU labelling rules are currently on hold, as the Commission postponed their release, fearing an excessive polarisation of the debate leading up to the European Parliament elections next June.

Meanwhile, Italy, one of the most vocal opponents to Nutriscore, has advocated for a less “alarmist” alternative, Nutrinform, which displays the percentage of nutrients and energy from a recommended daily intake without ranking the product.

Rome faced pressure from its agri-food sector to oppose Nutriscore, as the country’s traditional foods, such as cheese and olive oil, would receive an orange or red label.

The Belgian Presidency of the EU Council will revisit the debate on the controversial nutritional label during a scientific symposium on 25 April. The event, which seeks to “share experiences” on a voluntary front-of-pack labelling system, will bring together scientists, representatives from EU member states, industry stakeholders and consumer organisations.

[Edited by Rajnish Singh]

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