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Ten years of Nutri-Score front-of-pack nutrition labelling in Europe

Nature Food volume 6, pages 239–243 (2025)Cite this article

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Abstract

Recognizing front-of-pack nutrition labelling (FOPL) as an important tool for promoting healthier diets, the European Commission announced in 2020 that it would propose legislation for mandatory, harmonized FOPL as of 2022. Among existing FOPL schemes that could be used to that end, Nutri-Score (a summary, colour-coded system) stands out as the most widely adopted since 2017, with studies documenting its effectiveness in various contexts. Here we argue that stakeholders with conflicts of interest used contestable lobbying tactics and instrumentalized evidence against Nutri-Score, contributing to the European Commission’s failure to propose legislation. We call for an EU–wide FOPL scheme to be chosen on the basis of evidence-based, transparent policy processes that readdress power imbalances and create the trust required for genuine democratic debate.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Equipe de Recherche en Epidémiologie Nutritionnelle, UMR U1153 Inserm/U1125 Inra/Cnam/Université Sorbonne Paris Nord, Bobigny, France

    Chantal Julia & Serge Hercberg

  2. Public Health Department, GHU Paris Seine-Saint-Denis, Assistance Publique - Hôpitaux de Paris, Bobigny, France

    Chantal Julia & Serge Hercberg

  3. Essex School of Law, University of Essex, Colchester, UK

    Nikhil Gokani

  4. Law & Non-Communicable Diseases Research Unit, School of Law and Social Justice, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, UK

    Amandine Garde

Authors
  1. Chantal Julia
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  2. Nikhil Gokani
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  3. Serge Hercberg
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  4. Amandine Garde
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Contributions

C.J., N.G., S.H. and A.G. all contributed equally to the literature review, interpretation of the results and drafting the manuscript.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Chantal Julia.

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The authors declare no competing interests.

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Nature Food thanks Christine Parker and the other, anonymous, reviewer(s) for their contribution to the peer review of this work.

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Julia, C., Gokani, N., Hercberg, S. et al. Ten years of Nutri-Score front-of-pack nutrition labelling in Europe. Nat Food 6, 239–243 (2025). https://doi.org/10.1038/s43016-025-01141-y

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