Thru an awareness campaign, the Healthy Eating Movement and the Panama Alliance requested the National Assembly to discuss the bill on front labeling.

Bill 402, which establishes the mandatory nutritional labeling of all food nationwide, is on the agenda to be discussed in the first debate by the Commission on Labor, Health, and Social Development.

Betty Cruzado, General Director of the Healthy Eating Movement Foundation, urged the National Assembly to discuss this bill, presented by Deputy Jairo Salazar, providing clear and simple information for consumers, who are the ones that should choose what they consume.

He explained that this regulation is necessary because, as consumers, we are misinformed about the products we consume, especially those that claim to be dairy products but are not. “Panama does not have any labeling law, not even at the nutritional, general, or front level, which is the one that helps consumers decide whether to purchase them or not,” Cruzado pointed out.

In that sense, the deputy and first vise president of the Legislative body, Manuel Cohen Salerno, stated that this is a positive project because it prevents and warns consumers about the harm a product can cause and the precautions they should take when consuming it, especially when it contains excess sugar and fat.

The objective of the initiative is to promote healthy eating and protect the health of the population by supporting the national health system.