French Nutri-Score petition gains momentum as scientists push for mandatory labeling

A group of researchers, including the Nutri-Score’s co-creator Serge Hercberg, filed a petition on the French National Assembly’s platform to require the Nutri-Score label on every food product. They report that the call has been amplified by a broad coalition of citizen groups and professional societies, allowing it to surpass the signature threshold needed for parliamentary consideration. The Nutri-Score, introduced on a voluntary basis in 2017 and adopted in several other European nations, assigns grades from A to E according to nutritional composition.

An update to its calculation method earlier this year tightened criteria for sugary foods and artificially sweetened beverages, leading some firms that had adopted the label to withdraw it. Although two parliamentary amendments passed in November to make the label compulsory, the measure has not yet completed the legislative process, which the scientists attribute to lobbying opposition. They argue that mandatory labeling is essential to combat the ongoing rise in overweight, obesity, and diet-related chronic illnesses.