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Adjustments Needed for the Use of Nutri-Score in the Netherlands: Lack of Selectivity and Conformity with Dutch Dietary Guidelines in Four Product Groups

Received: 28 February 2020    Accepted: 17 March 2020    Published: 13 April 2020
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Abstract

Objective: The study investigates the applicability of Nutri-Score in the Netherlands, by comparing Nutri-Score with Dutch Choices criteria and Dutch dietary guidelines in different product groups. Design: For products within the product groups Cheese, Ready meals, Soups and Meal sauces, nutritional data from three large national retailers was collected and the products’ corresponding Nutri-Scores were calculated. The distribution of the products among the different Nutri-Scores (A-E) per product group was calculated. To determine whether the healthiness of products correspond to a healthy score (A/B) and unhealthy products correspond to an unhealthy score (D/E), all product scores were compared to product group-specific criteria of the Dutch Choices Foundation. Furthermore, to identify whether there was a correlation between Nutri-Score and one or more nutrient(s), single and multiple regression analyses were performed. Finally, the Nutri-Score of products was compared with Dutch dietary guidelines. Data characteristics: 2299 products were included in this study, of which 1396 cheeses, 343 ready meals, 370 soups and 190 meal sauces. Results and conclusions: The current study shows that for the product groups Cheese, Ready meals, Soups and Meal sauces, there is an uneven distribution of the products among the different Nutri-Scores, Nutri-Scores of a great amount of products are not in line with Dutch Choices criteria and - dietary guidelines and there is no high correlation between Nutri-Score and health influencing nutrients in most product groups. Now that the Dutch Government has decided to implement Nutri-Score as the new FOP-label, it is advised to look into the possibilities to adapt the algorithm behind the score to a product group-specific algorithm based on Dutch guidelines.

Published in International Journal of Nutrition and Food Sciences (Volume 9, Issue 2)
DOI 10.11648/j.ijnfs.20200902.11
Page(s) 33-42
Creative Commons

This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.

Copyright

Copyright © The Author(s), 2024. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Nutri-Score, Dutch Choices Criteria, Dietary Guidelines, Product Data Study

References
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    Charlotte van Tongeren, Léon Jansen. (2020). Adjustments Needed for the Use of Nutri-Score in the Netherlands: Lack of Selectivity and Conformity with Dutch Dietary Guidelines in Four Product Groups. International Journal of Nutrition and Food Sciences, 9(2), 33-42. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijnfs.20200902.11

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    ACS Style

    Charlotte van Tongeren; Léon Jansen. Adjustments Needed for the Use of Nutri-Score in the Netherlands: Lack of Selectivity and Conformity with Dutch Dietary Guidelines in Four Product Groups. Int. J. Nutr. Food Sci. 2020, 9(2), 33-42. doi: 10.11648/j.ijnfs.20200902.11

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    AMA Style

    Charlotte van Tongeren, Léon Jansen. Adjustments Needed for the Use of Nutri-Score in the Netherlands: Lack of Selectivity and Conformity with Dutch Dietary Guidelines in Four Product Groups. Int J Nutr Food Sci. 2020;9(2):33-42. doi: 10.11648/j.ijnfs.20200902.11

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  • @article{10.11648/j.ijnfs.20200902.11,
      author = {Charlotte van Tongeren and Léon Jansen},
      title = {Adjustments Needed for the Use of Nutri-Score in the Netherlands: Lack of Selectivity and Conformity with Dutch Dietary Guidelines in Four Product Groups},
      journal = {International Journal of Nutrition and Food Sciences},
      volume = {9},
      number = {2},
      pages = {33-42},
      doi = {10.11648/j.ijnfs.20200902.11},
      url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijnfs.20200902.11},
      eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ijnfs.20200902.11},
      abstract = {Objective: The study investigates the applicability of Nutri-Score in the Netherlands, by comparing Nutri-Score with Dutch Choices criteria and Dutch dietary guidelines in different product groups. Design: For products within the product groups Cheese, Ready meals, Soups and Meal sauces, nutritional data from three large national retailers was collected and the products’ corresponding Nutri-Scores were calculated. The distribution of the products among the different Nutri-Scores (A-E) per product group was calculated. To determine whether the healthiness of products correspond to a healthy score (A/B) and unhealthy products correspond to an unhealthy score (D/E), all product scores were compared to product group-specific criteria of the Dutch Choices Foundation. Furthermore, to identify whether there was a correlation between Nutri-Score and one or more nutrient(s), single and multiple regression analyses were performed. Finally, the Nutri-Score of products was compared with Dutch dietary guidelines. Data characteristics: 2299 products were included in this study, of which 1396 cheeses, 343 ready meals, 370 soups and 190 meal sauces. Results and conclusions: The current study shows that for the product groups Cheese, Ready meals, Soups and Meal sauces, there is an uneven distribution of the products among the different Nutri-Scores, Nutri-Scores of a great amount of products are not in line with Dutch Choices criteria and - dietary guidelines and there is no high correlation between Nutri-Score and health influencing nutrients in most product groups. Now that the Dutch Government has decided to implement Nutri-Score as the new FOP-label, it is advised to look into the possibilities to adapt the algorithm behind the score to a product group-specific algorithm based on Dutch guidelines.},
     year = {2020}
    }
    

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  • TY  - JOUR
    T1  - Adjustments Needed for the Use of Nutri-Score in the Netherlands: Lack of Selectivity and Conformity with Dutch Dietary Guidelines in Four Product Groups
    AU  - Charlotte van Tongeren
    AU  - Léon Jansen
    Y1  - 2020/04/13
    PY  - 2020
    N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijnfs.20200902.11
    DO  - 10.11648/j.ijnfs.20200902.11
    T2  - International Journal of Nutrition and Food Sciences
    JF  - International Journal of Nutrition and Food Sciences
    JO  - International Journal of Nutrition and Food Sciences
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    EP  - 42
    PB  - Science Publishing Group
    SN  - 2327-2716
    UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijnfs.20200902.11
    AB  - Objective: The study investigates the applicability of Nutri-Score in the Netherlands, by comparing Nutri-Score with Dutch Choices criteria and Dutch dietary guidelines in different product groups. Design: For products within the product groups Cheese, Ready meals, Soups and Meal sauces, nutritional data from three large national retailers was collected and the products’ corresponding Nutri-Scores were calculated. The distribution of the products among the different Nutri-Scores (A-E) per product group was calculated. To determine whether the healthiness of products correspond to a healthy score (A/B) and unhealthy products correspond to an unhealthy score (D/E), all product scores were compared to product group-specific criteria of the Dutch Choices Foundation. Furthermore, to identify whether there was a correlation between Nutri-Score and one or more nutrient(s), single and multiple regression analyses were performed. Finally, the Nutri-Score of products was compared with Dutch dietary guidelines. Data characteristics: 2299 products were included in this study, of which 1396 cheeses, 343 ready meals, 370 soups and 190 meal sauces. Results and conclusions: The current study shows that for the product groups Cheese, Ready meals, Soups and Meal sauces, there is an uneven distribution of the products among the different Nutri-Scores, Nutri-Scores of a great amount of products are not in line with Dutch Choices criteria and - dietary guidelines and there is no high correlation between Nutri-Score and health influencing nutrients in most product groups. Now that the Dutch Government has decided to implement Nutri-Score as the new FOP-label, it is advised to look into the possibilities to adapt the algorithm behind the score to a product group-specific algorithm based on Dutch guidelines.
    VL  - 9
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Author Information
  • Department of Human Nutrition, Wageningen University & Research, Wageningen, The Netherlands; Schuttelaar & Partners, Wageningen, The Netherlands

  • Schuttelaar & Partners, Wageningen, The Netherlands

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