Actimel, Danonino, Hi-Pro… the Danone group has just decided to remove the Nutri-Score from these products, whose nutritional benefits are once again being questioned.
Danone’s drinking yogurts are once again in turmoil. The French group has just decided to “gradually withdraw the Nutri-Score” of his “drinkable dairy and plant-based products”from September 2024. No fewer than five brands – out of the group’s 26 – are concerned: Actimel, Danonino, Hi-Pro, Danone and even Activia. A surprising announcement when you consider that the company was one of the first in 2007 to agree to display this simple reading tool with a color code ranging from green to red and the letters from A to E, supposed to help the consumer choose the best products for their health.
The subject of discord? The update of the method of calculating the Nutri-Score, decided in 2023 by a dedicated scientific committee. Drinkable yogurts are now considered drinks rather than foods, and are therefore now compared to water and no longer to yogurts. Actimel thus goes from a Nutri-Score B to a D, in the same way as Coca-Cola for example. A major disappointment for this flagship product that has boasted for generations “help strengthen your natural defenses”.
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“Legitimate to rectify this classification”
Danone denounces the “contestable shift” of the algorithm, considering that “This development gives an erroneous vision of the nutritional quality of drinkable dairy products (…) and therefore leads to confusion among consumers.” A choice nevertheless defended by Serge Hercberg, professor of nutrition at the Sorbonne Paris Nord University and designer of the Nutri-Score, who confirms that drinkable yogurts have moved into the beverage category. “However, for drinks, the sugar content is looked at more closely because they are often consumed in large quantities.”explains the specialist, who thus justifies the change from a Nutri-Score B to a D for some Danone products. According to him, their purpose is to be consumed throughout the day, “outside of meals” in particular, and “not only at the end of a meal like a classic yogurt”.
And that is the whole point: in his eyes, these products must “to be consumed in a reasonable manner”. There is therefore no question of maintaining a Nutri-Score B on a product which we know perfectly well is “too sweet”. “Danone’s sweetened liquid yogurts contain more than 100 grams of sugar per liter, that’s a lot (…) Before, they were classified A or B, it was legitimate to rectify this classification”the professor is keen to point out. Danone refutes these arguments, since no one knows everyone’s habits: nothing prevents a consumer from eating a yogurt at any time of the day, or drinking a yogurt at the end of a meal. And it doesn’t matter, according to the group, since between a firm Danonino, labeled Nutri-Score B, and a drinkable Danonino, now labeled Nutri-Score D, there is strictly the same recipe and the same nutritional contributions. Danone does not, however, question the existence of the Nutri-Score, and believes that this tool remains a “compass for developing new recipes”. “Demonstrating transparency to help consumers make healthy and balanced food choices remains a priority for us”says the group, which now intends to take the time to“study the impact of this withdrawal” on all of its references.
A first hiccup in 2010
This is not the first time that Danone yogurts have been in the sights of public authorities. In 2010, the group had already removed from its advertisements one of its health claims according to which drinking Actimel helped reduce the incidence of acute diarrhea, following a scientific opinion from the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA). Opinion, as a reminder, which serves as a basis for risk managers – European Commission and Member States – who then decide whether or not to authorize health claims made on foods. Which has not prevented the group from continuing to surf on the aspect “well-being” of these products, often presented as being “rich in vitamins and minerals”. While the food giant claims to have greatly improved the recipe for its drinkable yogurts, such as Actimel, which contains 30% less sugar than 10 years ago, it does not seem ready to play the transparency game at any price.
