Italian company Ferrero has launched an effort in Washington to change Nutella’s designation, to make it more attractive to calorie-conscious consumers

Do you eat Nutella by the spoonful? Or just spread it on toast?

The answer to that question might seem like an intensely private matter, but it is one that is currently being studied by regulators at the US Food and Drug Administration, which is asking consumers how much of the famous Italian nut-cocoa concoction they eat, in an attempt to determine whether Nutella is a “spread” or a “topping”.

The answer could lead to a change in how Nutella is labeled in the US – which in turn could make it more attractive to calorie-conscious consumers.

Ferrero, the multibillion-euro behemoth Italian confectionery company behind Nutella, has launched an effort in Washington to change Nutella’s current designation, which was established in 1993.

Under current rules, Nutella is considered a “dessert topping”, along with fruits, syrups, spreads, marshmallow cream, nuts and dairy and non-dairy whipped toppings. Critically for Nutella, the designation, which the FDA said was based on a 1991 consumer survey that showed a “significant” number of respondents used Nutella as a dessert topping for ice cream, meant that the average serving size was considered to be two tablespoons.

The product’s US label lists that this estimated serving size contains 11 grams of fat, or 17% of the daily recommended value, and 200 calories.

If Ferrero gets its way, the FDA will soon change Nutella’s designation so that the “nut cocoa-based spread” is regulated in the same way as honey, jams, jellies, fruit butter and molasses. The average portion size for those is one tablespoon. The change would therefore reduce by 50% the amount of fat and calories listed on Nutella’s US nutritional label.

The UK, France and Australia, among others, use the one tablespoon as an average serving size.



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Nutella, which is made with sugar, palm oil, hazelnuts and cocoa, has also provided the FDA with its own research suggesting that most people consumed about one tablespoon every time they ate Nutella, and that in about half of those occasions, it was eaten with bread. Ferrero cited a 2012 survey of 722 Nutella consumers that showed just 6% eat Nutella on its own.



According to public documents listed on www.regulations.gov, Ferrero has been lobbying for the change since 2014 with the help of its attorneys, Washington law firm Hogan Lovells. A May letter from the law firm to the FDA requesting a meeting on the issue was signed by Joseph Levitt, a Hogan Lovells partner who previously served as the director of FDA’s Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition.

In Italy, Nutella is ubiquitous, used both as a spread on bread, but also as a filling in flakey cornetti, Italy’s version of croissants, in cookies, cakes and ice cream.

In its coverage of the news, La Repubblica said a final decision would be made in two months “and the pounds gained, accordingly”.