The National Health Surveillance Agency (ANVISA in Portuguese) has published Resolution RDC No. 854/2024 on Provides requirements for sanitary conditions applicable to packaging, coatings, utensils, lids and metal equipment intended to come into contact with food.
This Technical Regulation applies to packaging, coatings, utensils, utensils, lids and equipment made of metal materials, coated or uncoated, that come into contact with food and its raw materials during production, preparation, transport, distribution and storage. Printing inks, varnishes on tableware and enamels used on the external surface shall not be subject to the provisions of these regulations, provided that they do not come into direct contact with food, nor with the user’s mouth in the form of habitual use.
Month: April 2024
Article/Brazil – Monitoring the first implementation year of the new nutrition labeling regulations in Brazil
Objective This study aimed to monitor the initial 12 months of the implementation of the updated nutrition labeling regulations in Brazil approved in 2020, focusing on the presence and readability of the front-of-package nutrition labeling (FOPNL) on food packages and the presence of added sugars information in the nutrition facts panel.
Methods We used data on nutrition information and FOPNL of 6,829 food and beverages packages launched at Brazilian food retail between November 2022 and October 2023, available at the Mintel – Global New Products Database. We applied eligibility criteria regarding food groups and cut-off limits for three critical nutrients stipulated by regulations to identify products eligible for FOPNL. We classified the food and beverage according to the NOVA classification, identified the products with added sugars information in the nutrition facts panel and those with FOPNL for added sugar, saturated fat or sodium. Moreover, we analyzed the temporal trends in FOPNL presence among eligible products during the study period. Last, a subsample of 202 product labels was analyzed to identify non-compliance with FOPNL readability standards.
Results 63.9% of the products analyzed were eligible for at least one critical nutrient’s FOPNL; however, only 12.9% already featured FOPNL by the end of the 12-month implementation period. Among ultra-processed products, 65.1% were supposed to have FOPNL, but only 14.4% did. Less than 30% of sweet cookies, ice cream, tabletop sweeteners, and candies with added sugar in the list of ingredients declared this information in the nutritional facts panel. Analysis of label images revealed non-compliance with FOPNL readability regarding its location on the packaging, FOPNL in removable parts of the packaging or hidden positions, and inadequate color pattern and format.
Conclusion The implementation of the nutrition labeling regulations in Brazil within the first 12 months reached less than 15% of eligible foods and beverages, indicating non-compliance by the food industry. In this period, almost all new launched products available in the market should have been compliant with the new regulations. Such inadequacies undermine the expected impact of promoting healthier choices at the point of food purchase.
Colombia/Article – Misleading advertising of the food industry as a strategy to incentivize consumption even in the face of the enactment of the junk food law
Objective: To know the characteristics of misleading advertising in the food industry as a strategy to encourage consumption even with the enactment of the junk food law – 2021. Method: Qualitative, descriptive research is carried out with a family from the municipality from Pitalito in the department of Huila, the instrument used was the interview. Results: The calorie intake of ultra-processed foods is an indicator of nutritional quality, these foods have a lower nutritional quality than fresh or minimally processed foods combined. Discussions: Nutrition messages that appear on food labels deserve special attention, due to misinformation and misleading advertising. Junk Food Project 167 of 2019 is aimed at improving this information. Conclusions: It is necessary for the food industry to guarantee the full protection and prevalence of consumer rights. Various sectors of society and the government itself have mobilized in favor of the drafting of more restrictive legislation in relation to the advertising of unhealthy foods and beverages directed at children.
Brazil – Food additives to be reviewed at ANVISA’s VI Public Board Meeting
Among the items on the agenda at the VI meeting of the board of directors of the National Health Surveillance Agency (ANVISA in Portuguese) is the discussion on:
Process: 25351.913444/2023-52
Subject: Proposal for Regulatory Instruction – IN amending IN No. 211, of March 1, 2023, which establishes the technological functions, maximum limits and conditions of use of authorized food additives and technological adjuvants in food.
Scope: GGALI/DIRE2
Regulatory Agenda 2024-2025: Topic No. 3.34 – Periodic updating of the lists of food additives and technological adjuvants authorized in foods.
Mexico – COFEPRIS supports Supreme Court decision in favor of front labeling on food and beverages
The Federal Commission for the Protection against Health Risks (COFEPRISen Español) recognizes (Communiqué 49/2024) the decision of the Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation (SCJN in Spanish) to reiterate the constitutionality of the provisions that regulate the front labeling for prepackaged food and non-alcoholic beverages, to indicate the products that exceed the maximum limits of energy content, added sugars, saturated fats, sodium and other critical nutrients and ingredients established by such provisions.
In this sense, the plenary of the highest court of the country determined that front labeling fulfills a constitutionally valid purpose, by inhibiting or discouraging the consumption of certain foods to avoid chronic non-communicable diseases; to make effective the right to nutritious, sufficient and quality food, as well as to protect the right to health of the population.
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