Direito administrativo da alimentação e nudge: alimentação saudável e proporcionalidade

Administrative food law is moving towards a framework that promotes healthy eating, not only in terms of governance, safety and food labelling, but also by introducing behavioural science concepts as interventions to encourage better eating habits. Although nudges arouse the interest of authorities due to their non-coercive nature in influencing consumer behaviour, they bring legal and administrative challenges. This article explores the relationship between administrative food law, nudges and the complexities of their legality. By examining cases of nudges on eating habits, their effectiveness and alignment with administrative regulations, the article seeks to address the question of how to strike a balance between the potential benefits of such interventions in promoting healthier diets and the principle of proportionality. It concludes that nudges for healthy eating should not be purely paternalistic in order to pass the necessity test of the proportionality principle, but are unlikely to be a suitable measure from the point of view of effectiveness.