Nutri-Score tougher than today: Sugary breakfast cereals score worse, only water in drinks gets an A | local

The so-called “Nutri-Score” on the label indicates how healthy a food is, based on the amount of calories, total sugars, saturated fat, salt, protein, fibre, fruits, vegetables and nuts present. Goes color code From green to red and from A to E It is used in Belgium, Germany, France, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Spain and Switzerland.

Naming in our country is not mandatory, but it is well-known and well-established. From now on, nutritional points for foods and drinks will be calculated more strictly. In total, 40 percent of all products will be affected by this New calculation method Which takes into account the latest dietary recommendations.

The system has been thoroughly refined. For example, it has already been decided to tighten the overall threshold between categories A and B by one point. As a result, fewer products end up in the healthier category.

Also in drinks something changes:

• In this category you get Only water still carries a Nutri-Score of A from now on. All other drinks can achieve a grade of B at most. “The exclusive status of water is highlighted,” says FPS Public Health. “As the only beverage recommended by international health authorities, water receives an A rating.”

• In addition, you will also Milk, beverages containing milk and plant-based beverages are included in the “Beverages” category. Based on fat content, skim and semi-skimmed milk score better than whole milk. There will also be a distinction between unsweetened and sweetened milk drinks.

• Drinks that contain sweeteners, such as Diet soft drinks., dropped one point due to the stricter rules: it goes from Nutri-Score B to C, because the sugar content will be taken into account more. This is because recent studies show that these alternative sweeteners do not provide a decisive health benefit compared to traditional sugars.

It has also become more general more The salt and sugar content in the products is taken into account. For example, sweetened yogurt and sweetened breakfast cereals will receive a worse score.

Get more Meat New Nutri-Score. As a result, poultry will score better than red meat and processed meat. Also in the category Fish An additional highlight has been added, so oily fish now also receive a better score.

The latter is also the case for some of them oils. Oils with a low content of saturated fats go from grade C to B. This concerns, for example, olive oil, rapeseed oil and sunflower oil.

And something is changing too breadWhich means that whole wheat bread will score much better than white bread. The change is to better distinguish between high-fiber whole grain products and refined products.

The new calculation method applies to all products produced as of January 1, 2024. For existing products, producers have two years to adjust labels to prevent food waste. So the tangles won't be immediately visible in the supermarket.

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