Nutri-Score pack labelling plan
The recently-installed government in Portugal is halting the introduction of Nutri-Score front-of-pack labels in the country.
Lisbon’s former socialist government proposed on 5 April to adopt the traffic light labelling system, which ranks products based on their nutritional value. Products are labelled against a ranking system, with A (green) being the best and E (red) the worst.
However, the recently-installed Democratic Alliance centre-right government, which won the country’s general elections three months ago, has questioned its predecessor’s move.
A decree published by Portugal’s Agriculture Ministry on Tuesday (11 June), seen by Just Food, questioned its legality. The government argued the General Directorate of Food and Veterinary (DGAV), which it said is responsible for food labelling, had not been consulted before the decision was taken.
The decree said: “It is the responsibility of the DGAV to promote the development of national regulations in the food sector, in particular on the characteristics/marketing standards, manufacturing processes and labelling of foodstuffs.”
Suggesting fundamental concerns with the scheme, it added: “The {European Parliament] regulation considers that legislation on food information should be sufficiently flexible, while establishing that food information provided voluntarily must not mislead the consumer, nor be ambiguous or confusing for the consumer.”
