“Green Health Zone”: a new product labeling may appear in stores 0 10

Product usefulness labeling is necessary.

This scale is used by some local producers if their products meet the "green zone" of the scale and can be used as a marketing tool.

Lecturer at the University of Stradiņš in Riga and dietitian Lolita Neimane believes that such a product usefulness scale is necessary as it helps people choose healthier products; however, it needs to be clarified what this scale means.

"Research on the consumption of saturated fats, trans fats, sugar, and salt shows that the situation in Latvia regarding diseases influenced by nutrition is unfavorable. There are two aspects to this. First, many studies show that people do not read labels on products. This is often due to the fact that the print is very small, and on some products, such as candies, labeling is impossible at all. Second, the level of literacy among the population regarding nutrition and health in general is low here," notes Neimane.

The "Nutri-Score" system, which is widespread in Europe, clearly indicates whether a product is healthy or not: green means maximum benefit, red means minimum. This scale is easily perceived by consumers. The Ministry of Health also supports the introduction of food product usefulness labeling, and this item is included in the draft action plan to combat overweight and obesity for 2025-2029.

The main goals of implementing food product usefulness labeling are to provide consumers with additional information about the usefulness when choosing products and to encourage producers to improve the composition of their products, making them healthier.