All united against Nutriscore, the color labeling system on the model of the French Nutriscore which damages Made in Italy products and does not correctly inform consumers.
Against nutritional labeling systems linked to the principle of traffic light communication based on a chromatic scale that goes from green to red associated with an alphabetic one (from the letter A to the letter E) whereby each food, through an algorithm that takes into account calories , of the quantity of fats, sugars, a color and a letter parameterized to a quantity of standard product (e.g. 100 gr) are attributed, two Italian DOP giants are now taking the field, the Parmigiano Reggiano Consortium and the Grana Padano Cheese Consortium who for the first time met in a joint Board of Directors to say no to the system and they did so – they underline in a note – in compliance with one of the important tasks assigned to them: "to adopt measures for the enhancement of products and, if necessary , adopt measures aimed at preventing or countering measures which are or risk devaluing the image of the products.” (Reg. 1151/2012 pursuant to art. 45).
For this reason, the Board of Directors has unanimously resolved to brand "Traffic light nutritional labeling systems based on reference quantities disconnected from the diet and the recommended ration - except in cases in which they are national or EU mandatory standards - as a “measure that devalues the image of PDO Parmigiano Reggiano / Grana Padano pursuant to Reg. 1151/2012, art. 45, lett. "f".
Therefore, in all cases in which an operator in the supply chain is asked, on a voluntary basis by the buyer, to modify the labeling of the PDO product by inserting the traffic light label or equivalent systems which do not regard the actual quantities of Parmigiano Reggiano / Grana Padano consumed in practice and which do not provide any indication regarding the correct quantities in the context of a healthy and balanced diet, the Consortium can only reject the request for authorization of the corresponding label.
The tools based on these classification principles - the note specifies - are misleading and deceptive for the consumer. In fact, the actual consumption of the products is linked to absolute quantities which do not correspond to the quantity at the basis of the algorithm. For example, the average dose of a cheese in a dish can be from 20 to 40 g, that of extra virgin olive oil from 10 to 20 g, and perhaps for other products the consumption is greater than 100 g (pasta or potatoes or fruit).
Furthermore, the systems in question do not take into account the balance between the different foods in the diet, nor the overall organoleptic characteristics of the product itself. In particular, cheeses are penalized for the presence of fats, neglecting the fact that cheeses bring many strategic nutrients: calcium, functional fatty acids, fat-soluble vitamins, essential amino acids, i.e. precious elements for a healthy, balanced and balanced diet.
In short, the Nutriscore system, as it is based on generic and certainly not educational information for the consumer, actually betrays the ultimate goal it set for itself, which is to guarantee healthy, balanced and correct choices from a nutritional and health point of view. And this is especially true for PDO products such as Grana Padano and Parmigiano Reggiano cheese, notoriously leading products for a healthy and nutritious diet.
Just think that, according to the Nutriscore, Parmigiano Reggiano and Grana Padano would be classified with an orange colour. But a plate of pasta with 80 g of pasta, 20 g of extra virgin olive oil and 20 g of DOP hard cheese would be - overall - green. It is therefore all too clear that the labeling tools based on the traffic light principle are “a devalorizing practice of the PDO because they discourage the consumption of the product without an objective nutritional reason. Conversely, the goal is to teach aware consumption of the correct quantities and taking into account the overall organoleptic characteristics of the product.
“We took to the field, together with our friends of Grana Padano, comments Nicola Bertinelli, president of the Parmigiano Reggiano Consortium. against a labeling system that makes no sense and that devalues the image of Parmigiano Reggiano which has always been considered by nutritionists as a healthy and natural product. We are certain that this important step can be of help to the Government which has already taken steps in this direction. It is an act of responsibility which not only goes to protect our product, but which will benefit all the other quality agri-food products that would be unjustly punished by a system without an objective nutritional reason"
For his part, Renato Zaghini, president of the Consorzio Tutela Grana Padano explains: "For years, the nutritional qualities of Grana Padano and Parmigiano Reggiano have made them the most loved products with protected designations of origin by consumers and the most imitated by unfair competitors, the first to therefore benefit from this mechanism. Nutriscore denies the most consolidated and updated indications shared by nutritionists all over the world, which make the balance between quantity and quality of the elements the strong point of a correct diet at all ages. Strengthened by these scientific guidelines, we invite all producers of Italian agri-food excellence, starting from the PDOs, to a common commitment at the level of communication and, on an institutional level, to support the initiatives launched by the government against this labeling system, recalling that a bad nutritional information affects the correct diet of consumers and not just producers who invest in quality and sustainability”.
