The Ministry of Industry, Energy and Mining has released for public consultation two MERCOSUR projects concerning food labeling:

• Project Resolution No. 03/25 Revision 1 “Technical Regulation MERCOSUR for the Labeling of Packaged Foods (Repeal of GMC Resolution No. 06/94 and 26/03). The document submitted for public consultation proposes the approval of a new Technical Regulation MERCOSUR for the labeling of packaged foods, which modernizes and replaces previous standards to ensure that consumer information is truthful, clear, legible, and sufficient. It establishes definitions, general and specific requirements for the presentation of mandatory information (including ingredients, origin, expiration date, storage, and nutritional information), sets formatting criteria to ensure readability, determines conditions for specific cases (such as small packages, foods for industrial processing, or imported products), and provides differentiated adjustment deadlines for various types of products and economic operators.

• Resolution Project No. 05/25 “MERCOSUR Technical Regulation on Nutritional Labeling of Packaged Foods (Repeal of Resolutions GMC No. 44/03, 46/03, 48/06, and 40/11).” The document submitted for public consultation approves a new MERCOSUR Technical Regulation on nutritional labeling of packaged foods, which updates and replaces previous standards. It defines the nutritional information that must be declared mandatorily, the formats and readability criteria to be followed, the circumstances under which the declaration is voluntary or exempt, how values should be calculated and expressed, and the adjustment periods that different types of products and operators will have before mandatory incorporation in the Member States.

The National Health Surveillance Agency (ANVISA in Portuguese) has released preparatory documents for the virtual sector dialogue regarding the review of the general food labeling regulations. The meeting is scheduled for Thursday, September 4th, from 9:30 AM to 12:00 PM, via Microsoft Teams.

The sector dialogue will focus on presenting the key changes agreed upon within the Mercosur framework for the general labeling of packaged foods, as well as addressing any questions that may qualify participation in the public consultation phase.

A spreadsheet containing the commented proposal for public consultation, which includes:

• A comparison of the provisions of RDC 727/2022 with those of the Mercosur Resolution Project on general labeling.
• A proposal for the revision of RDC 727/2022.
• Additional clarifications regarding the proposed changes.

• A public consultation project, containing the complete text of the regulatory proposal that will be submitted for deliberation by the Collegiate Council.

The organization the Power of the Consumer has reported that it has filed a legal protection action against the modification process of NOM-051, which alters the implementation of the third phase of front labeling for food products and postpones it until January 2028, citing various irregularities and deficiencies in the process.

In this regard, Javier Zúñiga, the Legal Coordinator at El Poder del Consumidor, stated: “The purpose of the legal protection action is to allow us to discuss essential aspects of labeling within the NOM-051 process, such as the size of warning labels and the placement of the octagons. It is important to note that there were several irregularities during the process, and if these are not rectified, we would be facing violations of consumer rights, including the right to health and information.”

In August and September, the National Health Surveillance Agency (ANVISA in Portuguese) will conduct a series of Virtual Sector Dialogues to engage the public in discussions regarding the proposed updates to the regulations on general labeling, nutritional information, and allergens.

These meetings will be led by the General Directorate of Food Management (GGALI in Portuguese) and aim to present the progress of ongoing regulatory processes, clarify any questions, and encourage public participation in future public consultations.

Participation in these events is open to all sectors of society and does not require prior registration. The meetings will be held via the Microsoft Teams platform, using the access links provided below.

During the dialogues, the main proposed changes to the regulations will be discussed, including topics under consideration within the framework of Mercosur and recommendations from the Codex Alimentarius. Furthermore, GGALI will provide participants with supporting technical documents prior to each meeting to substantiate the discussions.

1) Virtual Sector Dialogue on the Review of General, Nutritional, and Allergen Labeling Regulations.

2) Virtual Sector Dialogue on the Review of General Food Labeling Regulations.

3) Virtual Sector Dialogue on the Review of Food Allergen Labeling Regulations.

4) Virtual Sector Dialogue on the Review of Nutritional Labeling Regulations.

The President of the Republic, Claudia Sheinbaum, called on the Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation (SCJN in Spanish) to “protect health, in legal terms”, after being questioned about appeals filed against food labeling.

During her morning press conference, the mayor was questioned about the Court’s decision to postpone a resolution of the appeals filed by companies and affirmed that “labeling is something fundamental”, and highlighted that even “the most neoliberals” talked about the importance of information for the consumer.