Estonian retailers split over Nutri-Score food labels

Estonian retail chains have taken differing positions on plans to introduce colour-coded Nutri-Score labels on food packaging, ERR reports. Selver opposes the system, while Rimi and Coop say its need should first be assessed more thoroughly. Lidl Estonia already uses colour labels on its private-label products.

The Ministry of Regional Affairs and Agriculture is analysing whether Estonia should introduce Nutri-Score, a traffic-light-style label that gives food a general assessment based on its composition using five letters and colours. Paediatricians have urged the ministry to proceed, while food manufacturers have strongly criticised the plan.

Selver also opposes introducing the label. Kristi Simonsen, head of the retail chain, told ERR that Nutri-Score gives food products an overly simplified assessment.

“Food should not be divided into good and bad, or healthy and unhealthy. Nutritional information is already available on every product’s packaging, giving consumers the information they need to make purchasing decisions based on their own needs and preferences,” Simonsen said.

She added that Estonian products account for nearly two-thirds of the food in customers’ shopping baskets at Selver, which she said showed that customers make informed choices and often prefer domestic products.

Rimi and Coop have taken a less definitive position. Rimi Estonia purchasing manager Marta Palm said the chain supported solutions that helped customers make more informed and healthier food choices.

“However, it is important that the food-labelling system used is science-based, provides consumers with specific and understandable information, helps them make informed purchasing decisions and is applied as consistently as possible,” Palm said.

Palm said the introduction of Nutri-Score should be assessed comprehensively together with experts, manufacturers and retailers. She added that there needed to be a shared understanding of the system’s purpose, with the consumer at the centre of that purpose.

Oliver Rist, purchasing director of Coop Eesti Keskühistu, said Coop supported substantive debate and clear food labelling to raise consumer awareness.

“However, the system must genuinely produce results that support health and must not unfairly disadvantage clean, traditional local foods,” Rist said.

Lidl differs from the other retail chains because it has already used the label on its private-label products for several years.

Liisa-Indra Pajuste, communications manager at Lidl Estonia, said debate over measures to help people make healthier choices was necessary because excess weight and lifestyle-related illnesses posed a significant public health challenge.

“Nutri-Score does not divide foods into good and bad. It provides a simple comparison and assessment of a specific product’s nutritional composition per 100 grams or 100 millilitres. This helps consumers compare similar products and make more informed choices at the time of purchase,” Pajuste said.

She noted that Nutri-Score was already in use in several European countries, including Germany and France, and had already demonstrated its value.

“To promote healthy eating, it would be sensible for manufacturers, retailers and policymakers to join forces and develop a functioning solution together,” Pajuste said.

Food manufacturers argue that introducing Nutri-Score in Estonia has not been scientifically proven. Although they agree that consumers should receive reliable information, they say the simplified traffic-light labelling system does not take into account the amount of a product consumed, its origin, its natural composition or its cultural role.

The Paediatricians’ Association takes the opposite view and believes that Nutri-Score is necessary in Estonia. It says one in three children is overweight and that experience shows consumers have difficulty understanding the nutritional information presented on packaging.