France’s Nutri-Score makes a farce of healthy eating

The French Nutri-Score system has just been rejigged to take account of the latest research into healthy diets, but I have to confess I have never taken too much notice of it.

I mean, I know butter is going to get a horrible score, but I have absolutely no intention of excluding it from my diet.

However, on a recent shopping trip with an enthusiastic eight-year-old, I seized on it as an excuse for not buying sweets (E), chocolate teddy bears (D), and Coca-Cola (E).

“Look,” I chirped brightly, “the code says it’s bad for you! E! It’s the lowest Nutri-Score there is! Off we go to the fruit section!”

He dutifully inspected the bananas and selected a tray of apples, but I could see he was eyeing up the Nutri-Scores on the adjacent apéro snack aisle.

The French government’s Nutri-Score system was introduced in 2017 to help shoppers improve their diets. It deducts points for sugar, salt, saturated fat, and a high calorie count. It awards them for fruit, vegetables, nuts and pulses, fibre, protein, and ‘good’ fats including rapeseed, walnut and olive oils.

The labels are voluntary, but if used they must be displayed on the front of the packaging so shoppers can compare similar products (eg. frozen pizzas) and choose the one with the highest Nutri-Score.

My assistant landed his first big win in the milk aisle: “Look, chocolate milk is B!”

Glancing at the ordinary milk, I realised that it was also B and, later on, I realised that water is the only drink that gets a Nutri-Score of A.

“I’m putting it in the trolley,” he announced, and I could not think of a reason why not. I mean a B is good, right?

It turns out that the more expensive fish fingers are also rated B.

Baked beans do not have a Nutri-Score because they are imported from ‘Brexitland’, which has a different scheme, but I do remember reading that they count as one of your five-a-day, so that was okay.

Chips are even healthier, with Nutri-Scores running from A to B. This seems mad but perhaps the way you cook them isn’t taken into account?

Anyway, ketchup also gets a B, so my assistant was very happy. Who knew health food could be so tasty!

He gave up on the crisps and the cola but it turns out that quite a few of the biscuits are C, which was cheerful.

Since that shopping trip, I have found myself checking Nutri-Scores all the time. Cottage cheese gets a virtuous B, Camembert gets a C, but Roquefort and Comté score D because they are divinely delicious but high in fat.

I even started wondering if wine has a Nutri-Score, although I have never seen a label for it on a wine bottle.

Sadly, if you look online you discover that all wine is an E because of the ethanol content. Can I offset a bottle of rosé with frozen chips?