Research and lobbying conflicting on the issue of a front-of-pack nutrition labelling in France

Front-of-pack nutrition labelling has been highlighted as a promising strategy to help consumers making healthier food choices at the point of purchase. In France, a simplified front-of-pack nutrition labelling system was proposed in 2014, the 5-Colour Nutrition Label (5-CNL). It is supported by studies evaluating the various dimensions of the validation of both its underlying classification algorithm and its format. Opposed by agro-industry and retailers, multiples lobbying strategies have been deployed to stop or at least delay the implementation of the 5-CNL. Various alternative nutrition labels were proposed, and a full-scale trial was successfully argued for. This paper retraces the various steps of the opposition between public health and agro-industry lobbies on the topic of front-of-pack nutrition labelling in France.