Jan. 1, 2024 Nutri-Score final in the Netherlands

In late April, the State Secretary of Health, Welfare and Sport announced that the Nutri-Score has been legally designated as a voluntary food choice logo in the Netherlands. Dutch manufacturers and retailers may officially start using the Nutri-Score as of January 1, 2024. How did this decision come about and what can we expect in the coming months?

Nutri-Score as a tool for healthier choice

Developed in France, the Nutri-Score is intended to help consumers choose a product with a healthier composition within a product group. Several European countries have already adopted the logo. Based on the nutritional value and ingredients, a score is calculated, which is linked to a color and a letter. Good attributes of the product are hereby weighed against less healthy attributes. Consumers can then compare different products with each other at a glance during their tour of the supermarket.

Choosing the Nutri-Score

In 2018, the National Prevention Agreement agreed to introduce a voluntary food choice logo in the Netherlands. A consumer survey subsequently found the Nutri-Score to be the most effective logo. Hence, this logo was definitively chosen in 2019. However, there was a caveat; the algorithm first had to better align with the Dutch dietary guidelines of the Health Council and the Schijf van Vijf.

Revision of algorithm and advice Health Council

From 2020 to 2022, a group of international scientists worked to improve the Nutri-Score algorithm for solid foods. The Health Council advised on the revised algorithm in late November 2022. The Health Council's conclusion was that the Nutri-Score can have added value in addition to already existing nutritional information such as the Disk of Five. This is especially true for people who currently have an unhealthy diet and limited knowledge about healthy eating and are hard to reach by current nutrition education. It is also especially useful for typically unhealthy products, such as sauces, cookies, cakes, candy, chocolate, chips, salty foods, various snacks and different types of sandwich fillings. Unfortunately, despite the Health Council's mostly positive position, the score still does not fit seamlessly with Dutch dietary guidelines.

Resources outside the Disk of Five

Although the Nutri-Score is not yet perfect, it has now been decided to introduce it as a voluntary food choice logo in the Netherlands. The State Secretary emphasizes that the Nutri-Score is intended to supplement the existing nutritional information, whereby the 'Schijf van Vijf' (five-slice scale) remains the guiding principle. But when consumers do choose a product outside the five, there is now in any case an aid for making a healthier choice. The State Secretary certainly expects added value as a result, especially if as many companies as possible start using the logo.

Implementation by Jan. 1, 2024

Dutch food producers and retailers may start using the Nutri-Score from January 1, 2024. This is in line with a decision by the Nutri-Score steering committee to allow companies in the countries already using the logo to switch to the new algorithm from the end of December. The Central Food Trade Office and the Federation of Dutch Food Industry expect that companies that want to start using the logo will need until mid-2024 to put the Nutri-Score on their packaging.

Practical information

To use the Nutri-Score, registration with the French Santé Publique is required. Currently, the central government still refers to Santé Publique for more information, but a website from the government will soon come online with more information about the application process. Also, the companies that are going to apply the Nutri-Score will have to start submitting information about the composition of the product and the calculation of the score to the Food Database. Future legislation for the Nutri-Score will stipulate that the new algorithm must be used immediately upon submission. Those companies that are already currently using the logo as a pilot to gain experience must have switched to the new algorithm by July 1, 2024. Products from countries that have been using the Nutri-Score for some time will have until the end of 2025 to do so.