Chile – Public Consultation Project for the modification of the Food Health Regulations to include mandatory messages on sweeteners

03/07/2024 / infoAlimentario

The Ministry of Health has published a Public Consultation Project for the modification of the Sanitary Regulation of Foods to include a mandatory message on the label of those products that contain sweeteners, a legend “CONTAINS SWEETENERS. AVOID CONSUMPTION BY CHILDREN”.

Art 120 ter:
Food products that contain among their ingredients sweeteners regulated in article 146 of this regulation, either directly or through other ingredients that contain them, must label on the front of their packaging the following legend: “CONTAINS SWEETENERS. AVOID CONSUMPTION BY CHILDREN”

Texto-Consulta-Publica-Art-120-ter Download

Article – Communication of nutritional information: evaluation of the level of understanding of food labeling by the Venezuelan consumer

03/07/2024 / infoAlimentario

Introduction: helping consumers to know what they eat represents a communication challenge. Objectives: to evaluate the level of understanding of the information contained in a nutritional label in Venezuelan adult consumers, and their eventual ability to extrapolate said data in making purchase decisions related to a balanced and healthy diet. Methods: a descriptive cross-sectional study in which 377 people participated through a questionnaire with eight open questions, focused on the general use and perception of nutritional labeling, as well as the ability to interpret the information contained therein. Results: The 77.45% of the sample valued finding the nutritional information on the packaging of a product as very important. Middle-aged women read the nutritional information the most. In general, the performances on the understanding of the information of the nutritional table were very poor, and the only demographic variable studied strongly associated with its understanding was the educational level of the participants. Conclusions: a high percentage of people are unable to understand nutrition labeling information, representing a challenge for the evolution to more efficient labeling systems and consumer nutrition literacy programs.

For further information, you can access the original source in Spanish

7710-Texto del artículo-16399-1-10-20240625 Dowload

Chile – New regulation resolving interpretation for alcohol labeling is now law

03/07/2024 / infoAlimentario

The regulation that resolves the interpretation for the new obligation of alcohol labeling is ready to be enacted as of July 7. This, after the Senate Chamber unanimously approved the initiative that exempts from the obligation to label in a clear, precise and visible way the health warnings for the consumption of alcoholic beverages and whose products were marketed before the effective date of the rule that modifies Law No. 21,363.

This, in order to solve the legal void that occurred with those products that had already been marketed and distributed, making it impracticable for producers to comply with the labeling provision.

For further information, you can access the original source in Spanish

Costa Rica – Project RTCR 511:2023. Hemp. Derivatives and products of medical interest containing hemp

03/07/2024 / infoAlimentario

The Ministry of the Economy, Industry and Trade has published Costa Rican Technical Regulation (RTCR) 511:2023. Hemp. Derivatives and products of sanitary interest that contain hemp. Administrative provisions, sanitary registration, labelling, specifications, control and advertising. The purpose of the notified technical regulation is to establish the administrative provisions and requirements governing the regulation and control of plant material, derivatives and products of sanitary interest that contain hemp. It applies to derivatives and products of sanitary interest that contain hemp: food, cosmetics, dietary supplements, hygiene products, pesticides for domestic or professional use, hazardous chemicals, and biomedical equipment and material.

Applies to derivatives and products of health interest with hemp: food, cosmetics, dietary supplements, hygiene products, pesticides for domestic or professional use, hazardous chemicals, biomedical equipment and material.

24_03911_00_s Download

Article – Impact of nutrient warning labels on Colombian consumers’ selection and identification of food and drinks high in sugar, sodium, and saturated fat: A randomized controlled trial

03/07/2024 / infoAlimentario

Objective

This study assessed the impact of nutrient warnings on product selection and ability to identify food products high in nutrients of concern in Colombia.

Methods

In an online experiment (May-June 2023), Colombian adults were randomized to a nutrient warning, guideline daily amounts (GDA), Nutri-Score, or no-label condition (n = 8,004). Participants completed selection tasks between two fruit drinks labeled according to their condition, one high in sugar and one not. Next, participants answered questions about products high in sugar, sodium, and/or saturated fat (“high-in” product). Finally, they selected which label would most discourage them from consuming a high-in product.

Results

Fewer participants (17%) exposed to the nutrient warning indicated they would purchase the high-sugar fruit drink compared to Nutri-Score (27%, Holm-adjusted (adj) p<0.001) and no label conditions (31%, adj p<0.001); there were no differences between the nutrient warning and GDA label (14%, adj p = 0.087). Compared to the nutrient warning, the GDA label was slightly more effective at helping consumers identify which drink was high in sugar (89% versus 92%, adj p<0.001), while the Nutri-Score and no-label conditions were less effective. Compared to all other conditions, nutrient warnings were more effective at helping participants identify that products were high in nutrients of concern, were more effective at decreasing intentions to purchase these high-in products and were perceived as more effective. Nutrient warnings were most often selected as the label that most discouraged consumption.