The Americas – Brazil: Consultation project on regulation of the Beverage Law

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The Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Supply (Mapa) published the Ordinance Nº 562 of July 1994 (Beverage Law) which provides for the standardization, classification, registration, control, production and inspection of beverages.

The proposed new regulation of the Beverage Law focuses on identity and quality requirements, which involve the composition and labeling of beverages; technological requirements, which involve the controls of the processes of the establishments to offer products with quality and safety; and administrative procedures, which involve the inspection and registration carried out by Mapa.

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

Article – Costa Rica: The superiority of front-of-package warning label in Costa Rica

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The study compared the efficacy of the octagonal warning stamps (ADV in Spanish), proposed by the Council of Ministers of Health of Central America and the Dominican Republic (COMISCA in Spanish) for adoption in Central America, the traffic light system (SEM in Spanish), the guideline daily amounts system (GDA) and the Nutri-Score system (NUS) with a control group without EPFE (CTR), as well as the efficacy of the aforementioned systems with each other.

Articles – Brazil: Changes brought about by the new nutrition labeling of packaged foods: a review

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Nutrition labeling of packaged foods is essential to promote public health, proper and healthy eating, and to combat obesity and chronic non-communicable diseases. Despite this, the information used on food labels can be difficult for consumers to understand, raising doubts about their healthfulness. In this context, it is necessary to use information that is easy to understand for laymen, such as front-of-package nutrition labeling, used in more than 40 countries and approved in Brazil through Resolution RDC No. 429/2020 (nutrition labeling of packaged foods) and Normative Instruction No. 75/2020 (technical requirements for the declaration of nutrition labeling of packaged foods). In view of the above, the objective of the present review was to compare the new legislation for nutrition labeling of packaged foods and the repealed resolutions, focusing on changes in the table of nutrition information, nutrition claims and the introduction of front nutrition labeling on food labels.

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

The Americas – Brazil: Companies launch new platform to inform about food labeling

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Since April, Brazilian consumers will have access to a digital educational platform dedicated to explaining how to read and understand the information on food labels. Olho na Lupa, composed of the website http://www.olhonalupa.com.br and profiles on social networks, is an initiative of 11 associations representing the food and beverage and retail industry.

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

Articles – Mexico: Weight stigma in Mexico and front-of-package labeling. A systemic review

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Front-of-package food labeling is a public health strategy implemented to reduce the consumption of processed food to decrease the incidence of obesity in Mexico. Although there is an increasing focus among public health officials on implementing policies designed to address obesity, much less attention has been paid to how these policies could impact those with disordered eating, despite the fact that millions suffer from such illnesses. Objective. The aim of this article is to present scientific literature related to front-of-package labeling and its impact on obesity and eating disorders. Method. Papers related to nutrition labels and obesity and eating disorders were reviewed. Results. The papers reviewed found no significant improvement regarding the consumption of processed food. Other measurements, including nutritional education, availability, physical education, and body-image acceptance, have a better impact on nutritional health. Discussion and conclusion. Front-of-package labeling is regarded as an important measure in the attempt to reduce obesity levels. However, there is insufficient scientific evidence to suggest that this type of labeling reduces the consumption of processed foods in patients with obesity.

For further information, you can access the original source