In French supermarkets, it will be possible to choose food products based on their nutritional qualities. This is thanks to a label that can be applied to packaging. The system is called Nutri-Score and resembles the labels indicating energy consumption classes on household appliances, which European citizens have been familiar with for years.

After a ten-week trial involving around sixty shops across France, the system – developed, among others, by the University of Paris XIII and the National Institute for Health and Medical Research – has been approved for rollout at national level.

How the food rating system works

The aim of the French authorities is to improve the quality of citizens' shopping. When choosing products on supermarket shelves, people are often influenced by advertising and the "summary" information displayed prominently on packaging. But this does not always tell us what each food actually contains, how beneficial it may be for our health, or, conversely, whether it could be harmful.

"The Nutri-Score system," explained Health Minister Marisol Touraine, "is designed above all for consumers who tend to always buy the cheapest products. The logo will indicate the characteristics of each food product." This is achieved through five different colours, ranging from green to dark orange, depending on the quality assessed.

It is well known that nutritional tables are already present on the majority of products, indicating their contents – for example, the concentration of fats or sugars. But not everyone finds this system straightforward enough to understand. Above all, people do not always take the time to check the contents carefully: the coloured labels will, in this respect, be far more immediate.

The battle with the agri-food industry

Red was nonetheless excluded due to pressure from the agri-food industry, which has never concealed its opposition to the introduction of the system. Initially, the French government had planned to launch the Nutri-Score food rating system by simple decree. The strong opposition from major companies, however, prompted it to await the results of the trial phase.

The Paris government's main objective remains unchanged: to encourage the French to avoid products that are too high in fat, salt and sugar. This is one way of combating the rise of certain conditions, starting with obesity, which now affects 17 per cent of the population. The problem is that European regulations do not, for the time being, allow the new label to be made compulsory: "We are counting, however, on pressure from consumers, who are asking to be informed, in order to convince manufacturers to commit on this front," the minister concluded.