Towards simpler food labelling?
Because it is essential to introduce concepts that are easy to decipher in terms of foodstuffs, Western countries must adopt codes that are easily accessible to everyone. Faced with the weight of illnesses that weigh on finances, practicing physical exercises and adopting a healthy diet seems essential.
Facts
Doctors, patients, consumer associations, medical professionals… are asking for a simplified color code to classify foods according to their concentration of lipids, sugars and salt. It is through an open letter to Prime Minister Manuel Valls, that these actors seek to sensitize the state body for more transparency.
Professor JL Bresson, pediatrician at Paris Necker, is one of the co-signatories of this petition. Thus, many distinguished signatories feel concerned by this action. Support is therefore provided by associations such as the SFSP (French Society of Public Health), the CLCV association (Consumption Housing Framework of life), the FFC (French Federation of Cardiology) but also “Que Choisir? » and organizations more oriented towards so-called chronic diseases. This citizen petition directly concerns pathologies such as obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular diseases…
You can find the petition as well as the official press release in the sources and references of this article (2) .
What is offered
Through this video, find all the proposals related to the petition.
Operating mode
From the most toxic to the healthiest, the color code ranges from red to green through pink, orange and yellow depending on the composition of the food. These five colors will, perhaps in the near future, be positioned on the packaging of foodstuffs in supermarkets.
For example, for a product of very good nutritional quality, it will be ranked A on the PNNS nutritional quality scale (3) :
On the other hand, products of lower nutritional quality will have a different code, such as rank D for example:
What is stated in this online open letter on the internet? Quite simply that the consumer be kept informed of the nutritional qualities of food, in an understandable and simple way, and that this information be placed on the visible face of the packaging.
A red circle means that the food is harmful to the state of health. Indeed, red indicates a danger, an alert and requires a certain vigilance. Conversely, a green circle symbolizes calm, nature and cleanliness. Packaging with a green sticker therefore means that the food is low in fat, low in sugar and low in salt. And even on products such as charcuterie, it will now be easier to choose, among all the sausages on the shelf, the one that contains the least lipids.
The usefulness of such a device
Being able to compare, in no time , the different products on the shelves of supermarkets and choose the one that is most conducive to the optimum state of health remains a promising idea, effective, from the first glance.
Concerning for example biscuits, knowing that dry cakes contain less fat than elaborate biscuits and that the latter are less sweet than those containing cream inside, this helps in the elaboration of races in a fast and healthy way. , even for a child.
Since soon, perhaps, each food will have its own specific color code, consumers will certainly be able to avoid foods that are detrimental to the state of their health, but above all, to select products rich in protein and fibre, these sources of health that do the most good for the body. This could encourage manufacturers to reconsider some of their products by offering foods with better nutritional qualities. There is no doubt that research will be done to move more towards the color green than towards the red.
Shopping could thus become much more pleasant. The comparisons on foods of the same family could become easy . Even for consumers who were already paying attention to their overall state of health, this future tool would make it possible to improve the possibilities of choice.
Stephen Paul is the lead author and founder of My Health Sponsor. Holder of a diploma in health and well-being coaching with more than 200 articles in the field of health, he makes it a point of honor to offer advice based on reliable information, based on scientific research, and verified by health professionals.