French MPs Vote toโ Make Nutri-Score Labeling Mandatory on Food Packaging
PARIS, October 7 – French deputies โขvoted Friday evening to require Nutri-Score โlabeling โon food packaging, a move โขproponents say will help consumers make healthier choices. the amendment, passedโค as part of the draft Social Security budget for 2026, aims to address the lack โขof openness surrounding the nutritional value of processed foods.
The proposal, jointly supported by socialistโ and ecologist MPs, isn’t without exceptions. Certain products, including those with AOP labels or locally sourced items, will โคbe exempt from the mandatory labeling. Socialist โคMP Sabrina Sebaihi highlighted โthe need for the change, stating, “Major brandsโฃ like Coca-Cola or Ferrero do not have โขNutri-score on their packaging. And yet we โขcertainly โknow that it is indeed โขbad for your health.”
The Nutri-Score is a front-of-pack labeling system โฃthat rates food โฃand beverages according toโ their nutritional quality, using a scale from A โ(healthiest)โฃ to โEโ (leastโ healthy). While the system has gained traction with consumers,โ its implementation has โfaced resistance from some food โmanufacturers and government officials.
The government expressed skepticism regarding the amendment,with Minister of Health Stephanie Rist warning โฃitโข “contravenes โขEuropean Union law with a risk of sanction,” while still acknowledging the “interest” and increasing consumerโ use of โNutri-Score.
A subamendment introduced by Renaissance โคMP โคJean-Franรงoisโ Rousset further clarifies theโ exemptions, excluding โคproductsโข benefiting from national or European quality signs likeโ PDO or AOC labels, aiming to differentiateโฃ between “local products” โand “ultra-processed products.”
Companies failing to comply with the new โฃlaw could โฃface a 5% tax on their turnover, with the proceeds going to Health Insurance. Though, concerns remain about the practical implementation ofโฃ this tax, as noted by Thibaultโ Bazin, the general rapporteur of the draft โSocial Security budget, โขwho stated,โค “Iโข don’t know how it’s โgoing to work, and how it can be implemented operationally, โit’s not โขgoingโ to be simple.”
the amendment will become definitive uponโข a vote on the Social Security finance bill on wednesday in the โAssembly, before being sentโฃ to the Senate for review.