If you think back to the ‘shrinkflation’ labels that Carrefour put on the shelves last year, the French retailer is known to take a combative attitude when it comes to suppliers.
This week, Carrefour announced a similar move to some major manufacturers jeter un pavé dans la mare (that is put the cat among the pigeons for our British readers).
But the grocer’s latest announcement comes against the backdrop of debates in France over a tax on sugar.
Carrefour requires suppliers to include Nutri-Score information on products sold through carrefour.fr
And the retailer, which has used Nutri-Score nutrition labels on its own brand products since 2019, said manufacturers who oppose the measure will be named on its website.
The voluntary Nutri-Score labels, devised in France and used in several European countries, have long been a controversial system, loved by campaigners but a source of consternation among some manufacturers (and even governments).
In September, an early proponent, Danone, removed the labels from some of its products after complaining about changes in the way A to E scores are calculated.
Danone (and French dairy peer Lactalis) refused to be carried away by Carrefour’s move, pointing Just eat to ANIA, the French trade association for the food industry. ANIA had not returned requests for comment at the time of writing. Neither do Mondelez and Ferrero.
However, Nestlé did respond. “Our aim is to continue to encourage consumers to use Nutri-Score as a tool for providing clear nutritional labeling on packaging. We therefore welcome the measure introduced by Carrefour as it will enable consumers to compare and obtain informed decisions and towards healthier and more balanced nutrition,” the company’s French subsidiary told us.
Carrefour’s decision was applauded in the 2010s by Serge Hercberg, one of the French academics who devised Nutri-Score. “Congratulations Carrefour! Transparency in food is a consumer right and a duty of manufacturers.
It is not normal that Ferrero, Coca-Cola, Lactalis, Mars, Mondelez, Danone, Bjorg… refuse to display the Nutri-Score on their products because they know this is useful information to help consumers make informed choices make when making a purchase,” Hercberg posted on LinkedIn.
The retailer’s move was also backed by campaigners. “The more products that carry the Nutri-Score, the more useful it will be to consumers, allowing them to make more informed nutritional comparisons in the supermarket,” said Emma Calvert, senior food policy officer at BEUC, the pan-European consumer advocacy group, told IPS. Just eat.
