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Nutritionist Serge Hercberg, one of the developers of the Nutri-Scores food labelling system, has proposed labelling alcoholic beverages with the black letter F to warn against their consumption. Until now, the Nutri-Score has provided information on the label about the nutritional value of a food on the basis of a 5-level colour scale from A to E. The green A stands for a favourable nutritional value. The green A stands for a favourable, the red E for a less favourable nutritional value. The Nutri-Score supplements the already existing mandatory labelling, especially the nutritional value table. For drinks with an alcohol content of more than 1.2 percent by volume, the Nutri-Score may not be used so far.
Gian Marco Centinaio, Italian Secretary of State for Agriculture, reacted sharply to Hercberg's announcement that he wanted to classify all alcoholic beverages as hazardous to health. "I would like to know what French President Macron thinks about the latest proposal of the Nutriscore makers." Only a few weeks ago, Macron had in fact stressed the important role of French wine for the economy and recalled that wine was a central part of his country's culture. Centinaio and the Italian wine producers have asked President Macron for an official statement.
The president of the Federvini umbrella organisation, Micaela Pallini, also expressed her dismay about the proposal. She said it was an affront and a slap in the face for the entire wine industry. "Labelling a drink with red or even black colour means pillorying a product without linking it to the way it is consumed or the occasions on which it is consumed," Pallini said.
Giovanni Busi, president of the Chianti Consortium, addressed Italian Euro-parliamentarians and urged them to make their voices heard. "The Nutriscore system is a new attack on the Italian, French and Spanish wine industries. It is not the first and probably not the last. The entire wine sector is at risk. Europe must use common sense and stop everything while there is still time," Busi said in a press release.
Originally, the Nutri-Score comes from France, where it was already introduced in 2017. In Germany, the Nutri-Score may be used since 6 November 2020. The labelling of products with the so-called food traffic light has so far been voluntary for companies. Italy fears that the labelling could become a European standard.
(ru / Source: Il Sole 24 ore, Chianti Consortium; Photo: 123rf.com)
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