A recent American study improved the composition of ultra-processed foods thanks to Nutri-Score. According to the researchers, the rating will force manufacturers to offer better quality products. But which products are affected?
It is everywhere. Nutri-Score, the five-level color barometer, from A to E, that classifies the nutritional quality of food, is now well-entrenched in our consumption habits. Since its launch in 2017, it will benefit consumers as well as manufacturers. This is what two American researchers said in a recently published study “Effect of Front-of-Package Nutritional Labeling on Product Composition.”
After studying more than 6,000 references to cereals, chips and popcorn, Rajib Rahman and Christoph Bauner, the authors of this report affirm: Improving the composition of these foods is “in part, a strategic response to the introduction of Nutri-Score”.
But this isn’t the first time a study has been published linking Nutri-Score and improving the composition of ultra-processed products. Following the example of UFC Quay Choicer in April 2023 and its comparative study on the nutritional quality of food. An overview of products that have improved their Nutri-Score.
Ultra processed products
In a 2024 study, American researchers relied on a comparison of similar products sold in France, Italy and the United Kingdom. Results: It is in France, an innovative country in the use of Nutri-Score because its neighbors do not use it, that ultra-processed products have a better composition. For the study’s authors, the preference for chips, cereal and popcorn is due to the fact that they are highly processed and that “therefore offer manufacturers more possibilities to influence the Nutri-Score”.
But in detail, it is impossible to know which brand was investigated. Contacted by RMC Conso, Christoph Bauner, author of the 2024 American study, explains that there are no results for individual products.
“Our study does not focus on product reformulation, but on new products before and after the introduction of the Nutri-Score. In other words, we do not observe individual products whose Nutri-Score has improved. Improved is,” he explains to RMC Conso.
Nestlé, Chabrier, Baker…
From 2023, the UFC highlighted the “beneficial” effect of Nutri-Score on the composition of our consumer products. For consumer associations, the barometer displays rhymes with improving recipes, especially for ultra-processed products. And for these three food families, where the Nutri-Score is most often displayed:
- Cereal bars (43% display),
- Specialty breads and rusks (61%),
- Breakfast cereals (97%).
For example, the UFC relies on various commodities to support its conclusions. Regarding cereal bars (three-quarters of which were rated Nutriscore D or E in 2015), 49% of references were rated A, B or C. To achieve these results, sugar, salt and saturated fatty acids were replaced. For high protein and fiber content.
Bread making products (sandwiches and specialty breads, toasted breads, rusks etc.), of which 60% were classified C or D in 2015, followed by A and B at 62% in 2022. And note that 61% of the national brand volume in this segment is produced by companies that have adopted Nutriscore (Bjorg, Gerblé, Harrys, Jacquet, etc.). Taking the example of La Boulangère brand tortillas, the UFC noted a 27% reduction in its salt content, lowering the product’s Nutri-Score from a B to an A.
Finally, breakfast cereals, which rated D or E with almost half of its poor performing products (49%) in 2015, rose from barometers A and B to 38%. In the market share of national brands, especially Kellogg and Nestlé which dominate this segment”, UFC wrote. Triple-chocolate cereal brand Chabrior went from C to B in its Nutri-Score thanks to four nutrients: -34% sugar, -14 % saturated fat, -14% salt and +61% fiber.
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