Nutri-Score, the front-of-pack nutrition labelling scheme, has recently adopted a new algorithm update that concerns beverages. The update, recommended by the Scientific Committee for Nutri-Score (ScC), affects the classification of high sugar milk-based beverages, low-sugar beverages, and beverages with non-nutritive sweeteners (NNS). The classification of high-sugar beverages will remain the same as the 2022 algorithm update, while the algorithm changes for beverages were adopted on 30 March 2023.
Some of the significant changes to Nutri-Score’s assessment of beverages include the inclusion of a specific component for the use of NNS, which will yield ‘negative points,’ and the classification of milk, milk-based beverages, fermented milk-based beverages, and plant-based beverages in the beverage category instead of the food category. The modification aims to better categorize milk and milk-based beverages, especially those containing high levels of sugar, while allowing for better alignment between Nutri-Score’s classification and public health recommendations regarding NNS.
While water remains the only beverage that can achieve the highest Nutri-Score A, all other beverages, including naturally low-calorie beverages, will be classified between B and E. According to the new algorithm, sugar-sweetened beverages with a low amount of sugar will be able to achieve an improved classification (B), while those with high amounts of sugar will remain in D/E. Similarly, plant-based milk alternatives will fall between categories B and E, depending on their nutritional composition.
Despite Nutri-Score’s algorithm receiving criticism from some industry players for reclassifying milk from a food to a beverage, Serge Hercberg, professor of nutrition at the Université of Sorbonne Paris Nord’s Faculty of Medicine, whose work formed the basis of the original Nutri-Score, says that the move is logical since milk and milk-based beverages are liquid. Additionally, the categorization allows for more consistency with the generation recommendations of food-based dietary guidelines. Countries have a two-year period within which to adapt to the new Nutri-Score algorithm.
Overall, the ScC hopes that the new algorithm will strengthen Nutri-Score’s effectiveness in classifying foods and beverages in line with the main dietary recommendations of European countries. The modifications are expected to better categorize beverages based on their sugar content, particularly for those containing little sugar.
