This snapshot presents strengths and weaknesses of national nutrition policy actions in Portugal. Compare Portugal with other European countries in our NOURISHING policy index.
> Read the NOURISHING snapshot for Portugal in English or Portuguese
Portugal implements nutrition and diet-related policy actions in 9 of the 10 policy areas of the NOURISHING framework. Policy areas that received a good assessment referred to limits or removal of specific nutrients in food products (I1), and increasing public awareness of healthy eating through communication campaigns and social marketing (I2).
There is a lack of implementation on nutrition label standards and regulations (N1) beyond EU level policies. Food availability within the school vicinity was lacking, impacting otherwise well-designed standards on school food (O). Weaknesses were seen in regulations of the food environment surrounding schools (S) and in providing nutrition advice in school healthcare settings (N2).
Greater action is needed in increasing nutrition education and skills (G), where no policy was identified at national level. Even though Portugal implemented a sugar tax, greater action should be taken to improve financial incentives to increase affordability and accessibility of healthier food (U), marketing to young people especially in/around schools to reduce their exposure to food marketing and advertising (R), along with strengthening public food procurement policies by implementing further policy actions within this area (H).
Download a full analysis and breakdown of Portugal’s results (pdf, English)
This country snapshot presents detailed results of the NOURISHING policy index for Portugal. Full index results are outlined in the NOURISHING policy brief (pdf), which compares Portugal with other European countries and explains the methods for producing this snapshot and the index.
The index assesses if national government policy actions exist across all areas of the NOURISHING framework and, if so, how well designed they are. We produced this assessment by benchmarking policies from Portugal, collected through a comprehensive scan. You can view all benchmarked policies in our NOURISHING database.
We also have snapshots of physical activity policies in 30 European countries. Visit the Portugal page or see all the country snapshots.
The policy landscape in any country evolves over time. These findings reflect our knowledge as of May 2023. To provide feedback or suggest updates, please get in touch.
Fill in our feedback form or email the team policy@wcrf.org
