FAO – Frontal nutrition warning labeling should be an immediate measure in Panama

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In Panama, around 40% of school-age children and adolescents are overweight; and in young children under five years of age, 13% are overweight. If we take into account data from 2003, when excess weight in schoolchildren was 20% and in young children was 9.4%, we can see that this phenomenon of malnutrition has increased alarmingly in the last 20 years.

In response to this scenario, FAO has accompanied the Ministry of Health (MINSA), and other actors in the food system, in the development of food-based dietary guidelines, which has been useful for the formulation of national policies on food and nutrition, health and agriculture, as well as food and nutrition education programs aimed at promoting healthy eating habits and lifestyles.

The country has made progress in this direction by implementing measures such as the regulation of the sale and consumption of junk food and sugar-sweetened beverages in schools. However, more effective measures are still needed, such as a system of nutritional warning labeling that informs consumers, especially parents, of the risks of consuming products high in sugars, fats and salt.

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

México – Advertisers struggle to comply with labeling and advertising permits

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Mexico’s advertising industry faces new challenges as a result of the new front-end labeling regulation, which came into effect on March 8, and which requires advertisers to request advertising permits from the Federal Commission for Protection against Health Risks (Cofepris) to promote pre-packaged food and non-alcoholic beverages that include certain elements in the front-end labeling.

Luis López Linaldi, founding partner of the firm Solórzano Linaldi, explains that since that time, the labeling of prepackaged food and non-alcoholic beverages with excess calories, sugars, trans fats and sodium has been modified. Now, this front labeling system is introduced as a reference parameter to define whether or not certain restrictions apply to the advertising of food and non-alcoholic beverages.

The 3 main changes in the Regulation of the General Law of Health on Advertising

Advertising of pre-packaged food and non-alcoholic beverages must be congruent with the front labeling and, if applicable, include warning seals, precautionary legends, recommendation or acknowledgement statements.

The use of children’s characters, cartoons, celebrities, mascots or interactive elements in the advertising of pre-packaged food and non-alcoholic beverages that have warning seals and are directed to infants is prohibited.

The advertiser must obtain authorization before broadcasting the advertisement with warning seals on free-to-air television, pay TV, movie theaters, internet and other digital platforms.

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

Article/Paraguay – Reading, interpretation and use of nutritional labeling in adults in a neighborhood of Asunción

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Introduction. Nutritional labeling informs the consumer about the type and content of nutrients, favoring the appropriate selection according to their needs or health conditions. Objective. Evaluate the reading, interpretation
and use of nutritional food labeling in the purchase decision of adults from the Villa Morra neighborhood of Asunción consulted in June 2018.

Materials
and methods. Cross-sectional descriptive study, with the application of a structured questionnaire through an interview, with questions about sociodemographic data, reading frequency, reasons for reading or not, use of nutritional labeling, content reviewed by the consumer, interpretation of the terms contribution and Percentage of Daily Value (%DV) and agreement with the implementation of front labeling.

Results. Of 100 interviewees, 73% reported reading (always and sometimes) the nutritional labeling, 48% of these use it for the selection and purchase of food and 75% of the general population you do not know or do not interpret the terms of portion and %DV. The reasons associated with reading were “concern about the health of their family” (36%), “being on a diet” (33%), and “curiosity” (23%); not reading was referred to for reasons such as “due to lack of time” (61.7%) and “because it is not well visible, it is very small” (28%); 91% think implementation of the front labeling of food as an alert method is necessary.

Conclusion. The reading of nutritional labeling is frequent, but its correct interpretation and use is not, which is why it is urgent to establish educational campaigns aimed at the population and implement front labeling to facilitate and speed up reading and interpretation.

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Bolivia – SENASAG updates Food Product Labeling Regulations for Human Consumption

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The National Service of Agricultural Health and Food Safety (SENASAG in Spanish) published by means of the ADMINISTRATIVE RESOLUTION Nº042/2023, the update of the Labeling Regulation of Food Products for Human Consumption. The update incorporates the implementation of the procedure for the use and issuance of certificates of approval of labels online and digital signatures.

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

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Mexico – In the Senate, a bill is proposed to amend the General Health Law to include GMO labeling on food and beverages

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In the Plenary Session of the Senate of the Republic, legislator Ana Lilia Rivera presented the initiative to reform articles 212 and 215 of the General Health Law, in order to incorporate in the content of the front warning labeling of food and non-alcoholic beverages, the indication of those products that contain components or ingredients derived from genetically modified organisms.

The Senator argued that the traditional forms of production, marketing and consumption of native corn, which are part of Mexico’s food and cultural heritage, have been gradually displaced to make way for large-scale industrial agricultural production systems, based on the use of genetically modified seeds to make plants resistant to pests and tolerate herbicides, such as glyphosate, producing foods that, even when processed, contain this type of highly dangerous agrochemicals.

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

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