Day: 13/08/2024

Panama – Congress will discuss a law to label foods with excess fat, sodium and sugar

/ infoAlimentario

A law to promote preventive health and informed consumption of ultra-processed products is the main objective of the draft bill on ”Front Labeling of Nutritional Warnings” presented by Deputy José Pérez Barboni, of the Movimiento Otro Camino (Moca), to the plenary of the National Assembly on July 25.

This regulation would allow consumers to be informed about products with excess fats, sugars, sodium and other components that may be harmful to health. The labeling would be printed on the product in the form of a black octagon with a border and white capital letters that the consumer can easily identify.

If approved, the Ministry of Health (Minsa) would be the governing body that would regulate the technical and nutritional parameters for product labeling. The law explains that for foods containing an excess of critical nutrients, the Minsa must ensure that the octagon has the word ‘Excess’, while for those containing sweeteners or stimulants, the word ‘Contains’ must be placed.

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

Dominican Republic – Congressmen approve law that prohibits the sale of soft drinks and processed food in school cafeterias

/ infoAlimentario

The Chamber of Deputies approved this Wednesday in second reading a school food and nutrition bill which, among other aspects, prohibits the sale of soft drinks and processed foods in school cafeterias.

The bill is authored by Deputy Nelsa Soraya Suárez and establishes that cafeterias will be prohibited from promoting, dispensing or selling ultra-processed products, with high sugar or sodium content, as well as sugary drinks “that are not healthy for children”.

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

Article/Argentina – Changes in the use of non-nutritive sweeteners in sweet foods and beverages after implementation of Law of Promoting Healthy Eating in the city of Buenos Aires, Argentina

/ infoAlimentario

Introduction. The Law for the Promotion of Healthy Eating establishes that non-alcoholic food and beverages (F&B) with excess of critical nutrients must contain front-of-package warning labeling and in case of containing sweeteners and caffeine they must display a cautionary legend. The objective was to evaluate changes in the presence and types of non-nutritive sweeteners in sweet foods and beverages after the implementation of the PAS Law in the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires.

Methods: Data were collected on the content and type of non-nutritive sweeteners (NNS) from the packaging of sweets F&B in the main supermarket chains of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires in 2018/2019 and in 2023. Different non-parametric tests for matched samples were used to compare the frequency of F&B with NNS before and after the implementation of the regulation, the frequency of each NNS used by product category and changes in the number of NNS types between both periods.

Results: Of the total number of sweets F&B surveyed (n= 1823), a slight increase, although not significant, was found in the presence of ENN, from 26.9% to 27.6% (p=0.059). The beverage group was the only one with a significant increase (p<0.001). The most used additives, in both measurements, were acesulfame K (19.6% vs. 21.0%, p=0.001), aspartame (14.4% vs. 14.8%, p=0.169) and sucralose (11.4% vs. 12.0%, p=0.184). Of the 515 A&B with the presence of sweetener, 77.3% presented the cautionary legend.

Conclusions: One year after the application of the regulation, the change in the amount of NNS in the sweets F&B was not significant, except for the beverages group. It is necessary to monitor the presence of NNS in sweets F&B to know how the Law will impact the reformulation of the food matrix in the coming years. 

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Dominican Republic – INABIE and FAO ask legislators to approve the draft School Food and Nutrition Law

/ infoAlimentario

The National Institute for Student Welfare (INABIE in Spanish), the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the Parliamentary Front against Hunger asked deputies and senators to approve the draft Food and Nutrition Law School, whose main objective is to guarantee that food in schools is a State policy.

This seeks to promote a healthier and more nutritious diet from schools in line with the efforts that have been made by Inabie.

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