Nutri-Score of Meat, Fish, and Dairy Alternatives: A Comparison between the Old and New Algorithm

Abstract

Nutri-Score is a front-of-pack label that visualizes the nutritional quality of food products from most healthy (A, dark green) to least healthy (E, red). However, concerns have been raised about discrepancies between Nutri-Score labels and dietary recommendations. Therefore, the Nutri-Score algorithm has recently been adapted. To investigate the effect of the new algorithm, the Nutri-Score of plant-based meat, fish, and dairy alternatives (n = 916) was calculated with the old and new algorithms. In addition, the nutritional values of meat and milk alternatives with Nutri-Score labels A and B were compared under the old and new conditions and subsequently assessed for alignment with the criteria of Dutch dietary guidelines. The new algorithm resulted in a reduction in the number of products with labels A and B, ranging from 5% (cold cuts alternatives) to 55% (milk alternatives). The nutritional composition of products with labels A and B improved for meat alternatives (lower energy and saturated fatty acid contents; higher protein content) and milk alternatives (lower energy, salt, and sugar contents; higher protein and fiber contents). Overall, the new Nutri-Score algorithm is more in line with the Dutch dietary guidelines for plant-based meat and dairy alternatives, though challenges remain with respect to micronutrient (iron, calcium, vitamin B12), salt, and protein contents.

Nutrition classification schemes for plant-based meat analogues: Drivers to assess nutritional quality and identity profile

“…In this context, the Brazil NPM appears to be the best NCS for evaluating the nutritional quality of PBMAs, given its agreement with the Nutri-Score for burger (κ = 0.83) and cured meat (κ = 0.61). The Nutri-Score has been employed for nutritional quality evaluation for PBMAs in several studies ( Bryngelsson et al, 2022 ; Cutroneo et al, 2022 ; de las Heras-Delgado et al, 2023 ; Huybers and Roodenburg, 2024 ; Rodríguez-Martín et al, 2023 ). A total of 96.2% of the plant-based burgers and 67.5% of the plant-based cured meats were classified as Nutri-Score (A + B + C), while 45.6% of the meat burgers and 69.2% of the cured meats were classified as D + E in the Food Labeling of Italian Products Project ( Cutroneo et al, 2022 ).…”