The National Agency for Health Regulation, Control and Surveillance (ARSA in Spanish) has published a draft of External Instruction IE-B.4.1-GN-01, “Outsourcing of Analyzes of Processed Foods, Food Supplements, Foods for Special Dietary Purposes, and Registration of Conformity Assessment Bodies (CABs) with ARCSA.”
The National Agency for Regulation, Control, and Sanitary Surveillance (ARSA in Spanish) has released a draft for a partial reform of the technical sanitary regulations concerning the acquisition of the sanitary notification certificate and the registration of certified processing plants adhering to good manufacturing practices for special regimes, as well as establishments involved in distribution, marketing, and transportation.
The Ministry of Health, in collaboration with the National Health Surveillance Agency (ANVISA), the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), and the Center for Epidemiological Research in Nutrition and Health at the University of São Paulo, has issued the first report of the “Monitoring of Food Labeling in Brazil” project. The initiative aims to monitor the labeling and nutritional profile of food products sold in the country, thereby supporting public policies for adequate and healthy nutrition.
Researcher Ana Paula Bortoletto presented the analysis conducted by the USP (University of São Paulo), based on data collected by Mintel for the “Global New Products Database” platform at food and beverage retail outlets across all regions of Brazil, and on data obtained directly from the industry. All new packaged products available on the market within a three-month period were collected (the 39,000 packaged food and beverage products launched in Brazil between November 2020 and November 2024, 62% of which are ultra-processed and only 18.4% are unprocessed or minimally processed). The database included changes in size, new flavors, new packaging types, and reformulated products. The labeling assessment also considered the perspective of the Nova classification*, adopted by the Dietary Guidelines for the Brazilian Population.
Congressman Felipe Carreras (PSB-PE) has introduced a bill (PL 5229/2025), currently under debate in the Chamber of Deputies, that seeks to tighten regulations in Brazil’s dietary supplement market by expanding oversight, quality standards, and penalties for fraud and adulteration.
The bill doubles the penalties for adulteration offenses. “The company could be disqualified and those responsible could face criminal charges, with the possibility of imprisonment,”
The Santiago Court of Appeals has dismissed the appeals filed against the decree from the Ministry of Health, which altered the message “Prefer foods with fewer labels” that must be included in advertising campaigns for foods labeled as high in calories, fats, sugars, or salt, replacing it with the new statement “Food with ‘high in’ label, avoid its consumption”.
In a unanimous ruling (case role 1.276-2025), the Third Chamber of the appellate court –composed of Ministers Paula Hasbún, María Paula Merino, and attorney (i) Jorge Gómez– rejected the economic protection appeal submitted by Ideal SA, concluding that the change in messaging, aimed at informing consumers about public health and healthy nutrition, does not adversely impact the economic activities of the appellant.
According to the court: “Thus, these guidelines are the directives that shape public policies regarding food, which were undoubtedly considered in determining how the message should be conveyed as specified in the contested decree, so that such inputs are part of the reasoning that the appellant finds lacking, thus this section cannot succeed either.”
“It is important to highlight that the contested decree does not prevent the appellant companies from conducting their commercial activities, nor from marketing their products, nor does it impose any disproportionate or discriminatory restrictions within the context of the general health regulations applicable to all industry participants, as it only modifies the message that must be used in the advertising of ‘High in’ products that will be employed in mass media specifically indicated, such as television, radio, print, and those displayed in public spaces and on the internet, all aimed at more effectively guiding the population on such a sensitive issue as nutrition,” it concludes.
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