Food labels
Official or private marks placed on foods to certify an origin, a method of production or a level of quality, with very different levels of guarantee.
Food labels are not all equal, and the confusion between them is fuelled by how many there are. First, you need to distinguish what they guarantee: an origin, a method of production, a level of taste quality or social conditions.
Marks of origin (PDO, PGI) certify a link to a territory and a traditional know-how, and say nothing about nutritional value. Marks of production method (the French AB label, the EU organic leaf) regulate the use of inputs and synthetic pesticides. The French Label Rouge concerns superior taste quality, assessed through tests. Fair trade covers social and economic guarantees.
None of these labels tells you anything about nutritional quality. That is the central misunderstanding: an organic, PDO or Label Rouge product can be high in fat, salt and sugar. The Nutri-Score is the only indicator based on nutritional composition, and it is also the only one that is not a quality label in the regulatory sense.
Finally, you need to separate official marks, regulated by law and checked by independent bodies, from free-form marketing claims such as « natural », « artisan » or « grandma’s recipe », which commit only the company printing them.