Comparison of recipes classification between 3 French nutrient profiling systems: SAIN,LIM, SENS and 5-C

In response to the inclusion in the French Act on the modernization of the health system of a principle of a simplified nutrition labelling system, two nutrient profiling systems have been developed to classify foods according to their nutritional composition: the 5-colour labelling system (5-C), recently adopted by the French Ministry of Health and the French Simplified Nutritional Labelling System (SENS), adapted from the SAIN,LIM, developed by the ANSES. The aim of this study was to compare rankings yielded under these three systems based on recipe data (n = 101), half of them from an online meal planner developed by The French National Nutrition and Health Program (n = 51) and half from meals served in elementary schools (n = 50). Side-by-side comparison of the three system using the kappa statistic of agreement showed coefficients varying from 0.44 to 0.57, with only 35% of the recipes identically classified by the three systems. Discrepancies were identified between the three French nutrient profiling systems (SAIN,LIM, SENS and 5-C), although all of them have been developed for the purpose of classifying foods according to their nutritional composition.