Danone drops Nutri-Score label on drinkable yoghurts after downgrade
The creator of the Nutri-Score has said the change is a “deplorable” step backwards
Under the new scoring system, Danone’s drinkable Actimel dropped from an A or B to a DCopyright (c) 2018 stoatphoto/Shutterstock. No use without permission.
French food manufacturing giant Danone has removed the Nutri-Score nutritional information rating from the packaging of its drinkable yoghurts after their scores were downgraded.
“We have decided to phase out the Nutri-Score from our branded dairy and plant-based drinkable products from September 2024,” Danone said in a press statement to the AFP on September 4.
The decision will affect all liquid yoghurts from the brands:
Actimel
Danonino
Hi-Pro
Danone
Activia
As well as removing it from its drinkable yoghurts, Danone is also contesting a 2023 update to the method of calculation - decided by the Nutri-Score scientific committee - which caused many of the scores to drop.
For example:
Drinkable Actimel dropped from A or B to D
Danonino yoghurt drink for children dropped to a D, and is now considered “as a sugary soft drink”.
Danone hit back at this rating, saying that the ‘normal’ Danonino yoghurt (ie. the kind eaten with a spoon) retains a score of B, despite “having similar nutritional values”, a spokesperson said.
The Nutri-Score designer said that Danone’s choice to remove the rating was a “deplorable” step backwards, particularly as Danone was one of the first companies to display the score on its products when the system was first introduced.
At the time, the company claimed to be “a pioneer” of the rating in France.
Serge Hercberg, professor of nutrition at Sorbonne Paris Nord University and designer of the Nutri-Score, told AFP: “It's deplorable and extremely shocking to see Danone abandon the Nutri-Score when it no longer likes the rules of the game established by scientists.”
The professor added that he stood by the committee’s scientific findings, and said that it is “relevant” to rate solid and drinkable yoghurt differently, even if the quantity of sugars is the same. This is because drinkable yoghurt is mainly taken outside meals, as a “liquid snack”, which risks it being consumed in too-high quantities “by children and adolescents”, he said.
He added: “This serves to alert consumers to the fact that these products should be consumed sensibly.”
Nutri-Score is a nutritional rating system that has a simple ‘traffic light’ colour code and an A to E scale (A is green; E is red). It is intended to provide an easy-to-understand indication of the food item’s nutritional value.
It is used in seven countries in Europe (Belgium, France, Germany, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Spain and Switzerland).
Yet, it is optional and manufacturers do not have to display it on their packaging. Some countries in Europe, notably including Italy, are opposed to its use.
A view of the Nutri-Score rating (of a product with an A)Copyright (c) 2023 Markus Mainka/Shutterstock. No use without permission.
Consumer group response
There is far from a scientific consensus over who - Professor Hercberg or Danone - should be considered correct when it comes to ‘solid’ vs ‘drinkable’ yoghurt, in terms of how it is consumed or digested.
However, consumer groups have been quick to condemn Danone for its actions, and said that the Nutri-Score should be mandatory.
UFC-Que-Choisir called Danone’s argument “pseudo-nutritional”, and said that the move provides “further proof that displaying the Nutri-Score on a voluntary basis does not ensure that consumers are properly informed”.
Similarly, consumer food organisation Foodwatch said that Danone was “unacceptable” in its “backtracking”. “Let’s not pretend that Danone cares about consumer health,” said Audrey Morice, Foodwatch campaigns officer, to AFP.
