1,400 companies have signed up to the rating scheme

The Nutri-Score nutrition label will not be made compulsory for food manufacturers in France, the country’s health minister said on Wednesday, November 13. 

Geneviève Darrieussecq, speaking on France Info, said 1,400 were using the system, first introduced in 2017, to display the nutritional information of their products on the front of packaging. 

She said while the system would not be made compulsory but that the new algorithm that aimed to streamline the system would be offered to manufacturers 

“I think we need to realise that these industrial food companies also have a role in consumers’ health,” she said. 

What is the Nutri-Score?

Nutri-Score is a nutrition label and rating score found on the front of food packaging that aims to simplify nutritional information for consumers. It has five colours and classifies foods from the most nutritional (A – green) to the least (E – red) based on key ingredients including sugar, salt and protein. 

It was first adopted in France in 2017 and has since been recommended by the European Commission and rolled out on a voluntary basis in countries including Belgium, Germany and Spain. 

Read more: Why Nutri-score gives A to factory chips and E to farmers’ cheese

It has faced opposition from major food companies and farmers, as well as several EU countries including Italy, which rejected using the system due to strong lobbying from farming and food groups which argued it could harm their interests. 

Critics have questioned the system’s methodology which has been updated in the past to improve its accuracy.

Some food manufacturers in France, in particular cheese makers, have criticised the system. 

Read more: France will change its Nutri-score food ranking system. Here is how

In September 2024, French food giant Danone dropped the scoring system after its drinkable yoghurts were downgraded. Their decision was criticised by consumer groups and the designer of the Nutri-Score system, Serge Hercberg, who called the move “deplorable and shocking”.