The prevailing statism of the European Union never seems to come to an end. And this time it’s the battle on Nutri-Score to light the fuse and raise the barricades of the Italian government. First, to introduce, the Nutri-Score is an easy-to-understand scale developed by nutritionist Serge Hercberg as a tool to combat obesity and cardiovascular disease. Conceived in France and “famous” for its “traffic light” structure, through the use of five colors and letters, it would be able to determine the safety of food. And this on the basis of the amount of fat, sugar and salt inside them.
The countries that have already adopted this measure, beyond the French cousins, are Germany, Belgium, Portugal, Luxembourg, Switzerland and the Netherlands; but it is precisely Italy that has historically been among the most reluctant to adopt it. According to Coldiretti, in fact, 85% of Italian PDOs and PGIs would be rejected: a real blow for products based on made in Italy.
But the Nutri-score is not the only means used by the EU to “teach us” to eat healthily; of a few weeks ago, in fact, it is the green light from Ireland to put on bottles of wine e beer the same warning health that is written on cigarette packs. Decision followed by a strong debate to apply univocal rules to all 27 member countries.
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And yet, precisely on the infallibility of Brussels and of these mechanisms, one of our diners pointed out to us a not insignificant peculiarity, which concerns the Carrefour. “On the website of the Carrefour supermarket chain for Italy, there is a page (https://www.carrefour.it/
On the contrary, as stated on the same label, “the system does not take into account individual national needs and profiles. The Nutri-Score score it does not represent an absolute judgment of healthiness of a food, but it is related to the nutritional composition of the same”. In short, “this means that there is a discord between the French Carrefour and its Italian branch”, points out the diner, who puts an effective example on paper to understand the short circuit: “It would be as if the publisher of your book The Almighty is liberal put a preface saying: We do not assure you that the statements contained in this book are true.
In short, the Nutri-Score stands out for what it really is: a nutritional scale that it makes water everywhereabsolutely unable to indicate the wholesomeness or otherwise of a food product. Yet, the European Union – and many Italian observers in love with public intervention – do not seem to want to let go. For now, the Brussels proposal has been postponed to 2024, but the desire to impose on us what to eat, drink and what foods to put on the table remains more alive than ever.