The Americas

Regulatory news in the Americas

Central America – Resolución N.º 499-2026 (COMIECO-CXIII)

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Incorporates a note in numeral 9.1.6 of the Central American Technical Regulation RTCA 67.01.07:10 General Labeling of Prepackaged Foods (Prepackaged), approved by Resolution No. 280-2012 (COMIECO-LXII), of May 14, 2012.

Modify the Central American Technical Regulation RTCA 67.01.07:10 General Labeling of Prepackaged Foods (Prepackaged), approved by Resolution No. 280-2012 (COMIECO-LXII), dated May 14, 2012, incorporating the following Note in section 9.1.6:
“NOTE 1.” The supplementary label can be placed by the manufacturer, importer, or distributor.

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Panama – Panama achieves regional consensus to incorporate national proposal on general food labeling

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Panama achieved an important result during the most recent meeting of the Council of Ministers of Economic Integration (COMIECO), by successfully incorporating a national proposal into the new Central American Technical Regulation on General Labeling of Prepackaged Foods, approved thru Resolution No. 501-2026.

Resolution No. 501-2026 (COMIECO-CXIII) incorporates a note in numeral 9.2.1 of the Central American Technical Regulation RTCA 67.01.07:10 General Labeling of Prepackaged Foods (Prepackaged), approved thru Resolution No. 280-2012 (COMIECO-LXII), of May 14, 2012; and approve the adoption, by the Republic of Panama, of the Central American Technical Regulation RTCA 67.01.07:10 General Labeling of Prepackaged Foods (Prepackaged), approved thru Resolution No. 280-2012 (COMIECO-LXII), of May 14, 2012, and its amendments approved in the previous numeral and in Resolution No. 499-2026 (COMIECO-CXIII), of June 26, 2026.

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Peru – INACAL approves new Peruvian Technical Standards related to food and packaging

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The National Institute of Quality (Inacal), an agency under the Ministry of Production, approved, thru Directoral Resolution No. 000012-2026-INACAL/DN, a total of seven Peruvian Technical Standards (NTP), which establish requirements and testing methods for meat products, food contact materials, apple juices, and infant formulas.

Below are the newly approved Peruvian Technical Standards:

  • NTP 101.110:2026. TEST METHODS FOR FOOD. 1st Edition. It establishes a spectrophotometric method for the determination of nitrate and nitrite content, applicable to meat products.
  • NTP 222.201:2026. PACKAGING AND PACKING. 2nd Edition. This test method establishes a procedure for quantifying volatile compounds whose identity has been established and that are retained in packaging materials.
  • NTP 399.163-9:2026. PLASTIC PACKAGING AND ACCESSORIES IN CONTACT WITH FOOD. Part 9: Determination of residual styrene. 3rd Edition. It establishes an analytical method to determine residual styrene monomer by gas chromatography, in plastic containers and accessories made with polystyrene (PS) and other copolymers that use this monomer and are intended to come into contact with food.
  • NTP-ISO 8128-1:2026. Apple juice, apple juice concentrates, and beverages containing apple juice. Part 1. 1st Edition. Specifies a method that uses high-performance liquid chromatography for the determination of patulin content in apple juice, apple juice concentrates, and beverages containing apple juice.
  • NTP-CODEX CXS 156:2026. Standard for complementary foods for older infants and products for young children. 2nd Edition. This section of the standard contains the requirements for composition, quality, safety, labeling, analysis, and sampling related to complementary foods for older infants in liquid or powder form.

Argentina – ANMAT updates the identity and quality requirements for UHT milk, approved thru GMC Resolution No 13/23

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Thru Joint Resolution 7/2026, the Secretariat of Agriculture, Livestock, and Fisheries and the National Administration of Medicines, Food, and Medical Technology (Anmat) modify the Food Code to incorporate a new technical regulation for long-life milk (UAT or UHT) of the Common Market Group of Mercosur. In this way, regulations in effect since the mid-1990s are being replaced, and the legislation is being adapted to the technical advances recorded in the dairy industry.

The resolution does not change the way consumers use or buy long-life milk, but it updates the rules that manufacturers must follow to produce and market it. The main modifications:

  • The new Mercosur technical regulation for UHT milk is adopted.
  • The definitions and categories of milk (whole, semi-skimmed, and skimmed) are updated.
  • More modern criteria are established regarding composition, quality, hygiene, and labeling.
  • The methods of analysis and control that laboratories must use are unified.
  • Standards that had been in effect since the 1990s are being replaced by a single, updated regulation.

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Colombia – The National Anti-Doping Organization calls on the sports community to prevent the use of fraudulent supplements

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The Ministry of Sport, thru the National Anti-Doping Organization of Colombia (ONAD), informs the sports community about the health alerts issued by the National Institute for Food and Drug Surveillance (INVIMA), related to fraudulent products promoted as dietary supplements and marketed online.

These alerts warn about supplements fraudulently marketed to athletes that do not have the health registration required by Colombian regulations. This means that they have not been evaluated to verify their quality, safety, or efficacy, so their consumption may pose a health risk.

From the National Anti-Doping Organization of Colombia, it is reiterated that taking care of health is the first step to achieving good sports performance. Therefore, athletes are encouraged to make informed decisions before consuming any supplements and to always seek guidance from health professionals, such as doctors or sports nutritionists.