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. 2022 Sep 28:9:993238.
doi: 10.3389/fnut.2022.993238. eCollection 2022.

Performance and discriminatory capacity of Nutri-Score in branded foods in Greece

Antonis Vlassopoulos  1 , Alexandra Katidi  1 , Maria Kapsokefalou  1
Affiliations

Performance and discriminatory capacity of Nutri-Score in branded foods in Greece

Antonis Vlassopoulos et al. Front Nutr. .

Abstract

Background: The harmonization of front-of-pack nutritional declaration is in the heart of food and nutrition policy discussions in Europe. The Nutri-Score system has been proposed by many countries as a potential candidate but its suitability for use across Europe is still under consideration. The current study aimed to evaluate the performance and discriminatory capacity of Nutri-Score in Greece and to test its alignment with the national food-based dietary guidelines.

Materials and methods: Data on the energy, saturated fat, total sugars, sodium, protein, and fiber content per 100°g or ml were extracted for all foods available (n = 4,002) in the Greek branded food composition database HelTH. Each food content in fruits, vegetables, pulses, nuts and oils was manually estimated from the ingredients list. The Nutri-Score algorithm was used both as a continuous (FSAm-NPS Score) and a categorical variable [Grades (A)-(E)].

Results: The average FSAm-NPS Score in Greece was 8.52 ± 9.4. More than half of the solid foods (53.8%) were graded from (A) to (C), while most beverages (59.2%) were graded (E). More than 50% of food categories were populated with foods in all Nutri-Score grades, indicative of a good discriminatory capacity. The system scores favorably vegetables, pulses, and low-fat dairy products and unfavourablly sweets and processed meats showing in this way good alignment with the national guidelines. Eggs and seafood scored preferably compared to meat products. Animal fats received less favorable scores and so did cereal products that were highly processed.

Discussion: Nutri-Score showed good capacity to inform consumers toward better food choices in line with the national guidelines. It showed a potential to guide consumers and manufacturers toward less energy dense and more nutrient dense options and highlighted areas of improvement in the food supply.

Keywords: Greece; Nutri-Score; dietary guidelines; food supply; front-of-pack nutritional labelling.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

Figures

FIGURE 1
FIGURE 1
Distribution of FSAm-NPS Score among branded solid foods and beverages in the He1TH FCDB (n = 3,224).
FIGURE 2
FIGURE 2
Overall distribution of products within the main food categories. Dark green: Nutri-Score “A”, light green: Nutri-Score “B”, yellow: Nutri-Score “C”, light orange: Nutri-Score “D”, and dark orange: Nutri-Score “E”. No Nutri-Score “A” was represented on the graphic of beverages, given that only waters can be classified as “A” and were thus excluded from the graphic (n = 3,224).
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