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Nutri-Score's New Code: How It Changes Your Shopping Habits
🇪🇪 Estonia /Economy & Trade

Nutri-Score's New Code: How It Changes Your Shopping Habits

From Postimees · () Estonian

Translated from Estonian, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

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  • Nutri-Score, a color-coded food labeling system, is increasingly appearing on imported goods in Estonian stores.
  • Developed in France based on UK research, the system assigns a grade from A to E based on a food's nutritional content.
  • The system aims to help consumers make healthier choices by providing a clear, at-a-glance nutritional assessment.

Estonian consumers are encountering a new visual guide in their grocery aisles: the Nutri-Score. This color-coded system, ranging from green (A) to red (E), is already in use in many European countries and is becoming more common on imported products sold in Estonia.

Hellika Kallaste, a food safety advisor at the Ministry of Rural Affairs, explains that Nutri-Score is not a random development. It is the result of extensive collaboration among French public health institutions. The system's foundation lies in a model developed by the UK's Food Standards Agency, which scientists have refined over time.

Nutri-Score is not a random development, but the fruit of long-term cooperation between public sector health institutions in France.

— Hellika KallasteExplaining the origin and development of the Nutri-Score system.

The Nutri-Score's purpose is to simplify nutritional information. It evaluates foods based on a balance of beneficial and detrimental nutrients, such as fruits, vegetables, fiber, and protein versus calories, saturated fats, sugar, and salt. This allows shoppers to quickly assess the overall health profile of a product and make more informed decisions about their purchases.

The system's basis is the model of nutritional key features from the UK's Food Standards Agency, which scientists have further developed over time.

— Hellika KallasteDetailing the scientific foundation of the Nutri-Score.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by Postimees in Estonian. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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