Danone is to remove the Nutri-Score labels on its dairy and plant-based drinks sold in Europe.

One of the first major food and drink companies to voluntarily sign-up to the labels, Danone is unhappy with changes made to the European scheme.

Revisions to the criteria have placed dairy and plant-based beverages in the same category as soft drinks.

The Activia and Alpro owner said the change creates “a major inconsistency”. It will remove the labels from this month.

“This development gives an erroneous view of the nutritional and functional quality of drinkable dairy and plant-based products, not in line with food-based dietary guidelines in Europe,” the French giant told Just Food.

“It leads to confusion among consumers with different Nutri-Score scoring for products having similar nutritional purposes in our diet while being in a different format.”

Nutri-Score, a colour-coded system on nutritional quality, was launched in France in 2017 in a bid to give consumers an at-a-glance ranking of a product on a scale running from A to E.

Danone has used the labels on products it sells in countries including France, Belgium, Germany and Spain. In 2020, Danone and Nestlé called for the use of Nutri-Score, which is still voluntary, to be made mandatory.

However, the labels have proved unpopular in some European markets. Some EU members, notably Italy, have voiced their opposition to the scheme, believing the labels unfairly penalise certain products. In June, Portugal’s new government halted the planned introduction of the front-of-pack labels in the country.

The EU has been working to adopt a single labelling system across the bloc for several years but has so far been unsuccessful in reaching an agreement between member states.

Consumer advocates took to social media to criticise Danone’s move.

BEUC, the consumer lobby group that is an umbrella body for more than 40 organisations across the EU, tweeted: “So much for transparency and consumer information! Time for EU-wide rules.”

France-based pressure group UFC-Que Choisir also published their frustration on X.

“Total transparency, really? Danone has just announced that it is removing the #NutriScore on its drinking yogurts following the labeling update,” it said.

“To ensure there are no more secrets between manufacturers and consumers, there is only one solution: the Nutri-Score must be mandatory!”