Informe del Comité Científico de la Agencia Española de Seguridad Alimentaria y Nutrición (AESAN) sobre la valoración del aceite de oliva por sus características nutricionales en el sistema de etiquetado Nutri-Score
- Montaña Cámara Hurtado
- Carlos Alonso Calleja
- Rosa María Giner Pons
- Elena González Fandos
- Jordi Mañes Vinuesa
- José Alfredo Martínez Hernández
- Esther López García
- Victoria Moreno Arribas
- María del Puy Portillo Baquedano
- Magdalena Rafecas Martínez
- David Rodríguez Lázaro
ISSN: 1885-6586
Year of publication: 2021
Issue: 33
Pages: 243-266
Type: Article
More publications in: Revista del Comité Científico de la AESAN
Abstract
The Nutri-Score front-of-pack nutritional labelling system uses a code of letters and colours to inform consumers about the nutritional quality of foods and drinks. However, currently this system does not cover all the positive aspects of foods that possess a specific nutritional quality within the Mediterranean diet, as in the case of olive oil and extra-virgin olive oil. The AESAN Scientific Committee has suggested different possibilities for a more accurate assessment of olive oil and especially virgin olive oil, in the Nutri-Score front-of-pack labelling tem, taking into consideration those compounds that are beneficial to the consumer owing to their nutritional qualities. These proposals include: differentiating virgin olive oil from other oils in the algorithm’s scoring system, establishing a specific category for virgin olive oil; the positive scoring of individual bioactive components present in virgin olive oil, and the consideration of authorised nutrition and health claims for all types of olive oils in the algorithm. The Nutri-Score system is a tool for comparing foods within the same functional category, not an indiscriminate system for classifying the nutritional quality of all foods. A better understanding by consumers of the front-of-pack labelling system and its functions would help to improve their consideration of virgin olive oil on the basis of its health and nutritional properties. In this regard, the corresponding awareness campaigns may be conducted in order to provide consumers with clear information on the purpose of this front-of-pack labelling system and the functional categories that may be compared in front-of-pack labelling. It may also be worth assessing the inclusion of the food category together with the scoring (A-E, colour) in the front-of-pack labelling in order to facilitate correct interpretation by the consumer, or the inclusion of a disclaimer stating that comparison is only possible between foods that belong to the same category or have the same function. Finally, although it is essential to understand the purpose of this nutritional labelling system and the food categories that may be compared, it may be worth considering the negative labelling of the lack of nutrition intake for a specific food in this system’s algorithm, in order to prevent confusion.