The use of the NutriScore on the Yuka app cannot be censored, and the antitrust investigation in Italy concludes with an agreement on information clauses. (1)
Thus ends the attempted assault, in this case by Confagricoltura and Codici, on the French app that allows consumers to catch in an instant-thanks to scanning barcodes with a smartphone – nutritional profile and the presence of problematic additives in various food and cosmetic products.
Antitrust trial at NutriScore invests Yuka
On 5.11.21 the Antitrust Authority announced with trumpet blast its investigation against some operators using the NutriScore nutrition labeling system in Italy, as well as against the Yuka app. (2) Thus effectively accommodating the accusatory theorems of the various Italian lobbies that oppose its possible mandatory introduction in the EU, by the end of 2022, to inform consumers about the nutritional profiles of foods. (3)
The issues opposed in the appeal against Yuka by the farmers’ union association (!) Confagricoltura thus alluded to the risk of misleading consumers.
‘The proceedings concern
– the rating given by the Yuka app to the nutritional and health characteristics of the products in its database,
– The communication of the scientific basis and reliability of this assessment,
– The manner of selection and presentation of proposed consumption alternatives for products with negative ratings,
– the rights guaranteed by Yuca to consumers in case of disputes,’ summarizes the Antitrust Authority.
Yuka’s 8 corrective actions
The young French people who run the Yuka app-with more than 31 million users in various countries-are ready to respond to attacks by agribusiness lobbies. In France, they were sued for defamation in 2021 by the French Federation of Cured Meat Producers, furious at the app’s widespread recommendations to avoid the (carcinogenic) nitrite and nitrate preservatives added in most processed meats. (4)
In Italy, on the other hand, an agricultural trade union took care to point out the risk of deceptiveness of the app. With topics ‘remedied’ through 8 corrective actions that Yuka committed to implement very quickly (10 days from the publication of the outcome of the proceedings).
1) It is not an institutional or ‘certified’ app
In order to reassure ‘gullible’ consumers about the idea that an app and its method ‘have been accepted and/or approved by a public or private body,’ the first commitment stipulates that Yuka’s
– accurate: ‘The food assessment methodology of products applied by Yuka is independent. It is inspired by scientific studies and, as to nutritional characteristics, by the Nutri-Score method, but it has not been approved in advance by health authorities, nor does it result in a mere application of the Nutri-Score method‘;
– report that the evaluation method is calculated on the basis of 100g or 100 ml of product. The aside about the method ‘based on government recommendations‘ is removed. As is indeed true (at least in part, as far as the NutriScore is concerned) in France and other countries, but not also in Italy,
– provide an Italian translation of the information on the Nutri-Score, which is currently in the app in English and French, and make the most relevant scientific sources on this subject accessible. A piece of information that could have a boomerang effect for the enemies of the NutriScore, which is in fact supported by extensive scientific literature.
2) How scores are awarded
Commitments 2, 3, and 4 all relate to clarifications on scoring the individual scanned product. In detail:
– consumer information is supplemented (on the website) with ‘the list of Scientific Reports and Studies on the basis of which (Yuka) bases its assessments, accompanied by the link to the website on which they are published (if any)‘. Information, we observe, already provided by the app. It is also requested to specify the additive score: limited risk (yellow): -6 points, moderate risk (orange): -15 points, high risk (red): -30 points (with a maximum score of 49/100). As if discovering the presence of BHT in the food requires the consumer to go deeper into numbers,
– for each scanned product, in addition to the summary result (already provided), a web page is created that breaks down the score for each of the three exam chapters. Nutritional balance, additives, organic label,
– for organic products the reference to AB(Agricolture Biologique) is removed, leaving only that to the European Union organic logo. Correct request. In addition, the app must include ‘links to studies by international and national regulatory bodies and to the most relevant scientific articles regarding the benefitsto consumers ofconsuming organic products.’ And here the antitrust claims seem to trespass on the seedbed. But they come in handy for consumers to enjoy an additional source of qualified information on a subject that is too often treated with condescension.
‘Yuka does not guarantee better health‘
Commitment No. 5 borders on the ridiculous. The user who downloads the app on his or her phone should be warned that Yuka ‘does not guarantee better health for those who use it.’ With one passage betrays the imposition of the theses dear to Big Food, junk food harms those who consume too much of it without exercising. Indeed, Yuka needs to remind consumers that health status also depends on ‘theamount of produce consumed and the frequency with which it is consumed.’
And again, the app must repeat endlessly that the scores are ‘a mere opinion of the publisher based on the information reported on the product.’ And that the method ‘while inspired by the Nutri-Score method and scientific studies, has not been approved in advance by health authorities.’ As if the hundreds of websites and social networks, or influencers, care about the scientific soundness of their ‘advice’.
About food additives, which have always been accompanied by links to scientific sources, it must be made clear that the judgments (at risk, etc.) ‘express solely Yuka’s opinion of the associated additive. These adjectives do not refer to the product itself, nor to its intrinsic qualities. The evaluation does not express an absolute judgment on the health properties of the product’.
To reiterate the concept, Yuka is required to point out that ”The score must therefore be considered in light of the lifestyle followed by the consumer, his or her physical characteristics and specific dietary needs, and the amount and frequency of consumption. Yuka does not intend to ban or promote products, but to make users more aware of their composition‘.
The selection of alternatives to failed products
Yuka users know that when a product is judged negatively, the app provides a shortlist of better alternatives. Now the obvious must also be specified, namely, that the criterion for selecting these alternatives is based on same product category (cookies with cookies), shelf availability, best judgment.
A parachute to the products to be reformulated, it imposes an additional, repetitive caveat: ‘The selection of products is unbiased, and Yuka’s recommendation is aimed, not at banning products with poor (orange disk) or poor (red disk) scores, but at gaining awareness of the existence of alternative products that, based solely on Yuka’s evaluation method, scored higher’. As if ever an app could ‘ban’ consumers’ free choices.
The competent court
Another oversight of Yuka (in addition to the French bio) concerns the place of jurisdiction in case of disputes. The app provided for it to be the one in Paris, whereas now – commitment no. 7 – will have to specify that it is that of the user’s residence, as is normal (reg. (EU) no. 1215/2012).
Finally, on a web page, Yuka must explain how the NutriScore works, with scientific sources translated into Italian. Specifying that
– a bonus is given to fruits and vegetables to supplement vitamin intakes in particular,
– olive oil, canola oil, and walnut oil supplement this bonus to promote their intakes of Omega 3 and 9 – the calculation is adjusted for milk and cheese to promote their calcium intakes (as also provided by Health Canada).
Parmesan cheese and other flagship cheeses
To better emphasize That the delicious cheeses (the Italian PDOs, firstly), despite the calcium, they also contribute significant levels of saturated fat and salt, Yuka must console foodies and point out that ”The idea is not to avoid, upstream, these products, but to become aware of their composition, so that the consumer can consciously decide about the amount of the product to consume‘.
Tombstone, closing commitment no. 8: Yuka must provide ‘the replacement, in all pages and sections of the app and website, of the expressions “negative elements” and “positive elements” with the expressions “elements to be limited” and “elements to be favored.”‘
It would be helpful if such thoughtfulness were also given in the opposite direction. Yuka tells too much. Italianecommerce too little, as we have reported repeatedly – without feedback – to the same Antitrust Authority.
Notes
(1) AGCM, Weekly Bulletin Year XXXII – no. 28, page 217. PS12184 – YUKA Measure no. 30237 https://www.agcm.it/dotcmsdoc/bollettini/2022/28-22.pdf
(2) Dario Dongo.
Nutriscore and Yuka, antitrust enters the fray.
. GIFT(Great Italian Food Trade), 24.11.21
(3) Dario Dongo. NutrInform Battery, the battery label. An Italian disgrace. GIFT(Great Italian Food Trade), 10.11.20,
(4) Marta Strinati, Dario Dongo.
Yuka app condemned in Paris for battles against nitrites and nitrates.
. GIFT(Great Italian Food Trade), 10.6.21
Professional journalist since January 1995, he has worked for newspapers (Il Messaggero, Paese Sera, La Stampa) and periodicals (NumeroUno, Il Salvagente). She is the author of journalistic surveys on food, she has published the book "Reading labels to know what we eat".
