The Ministry of Health (Minsa) modified the manual of advertising warnings that regulates the consignment of the so-called octagons in certain processed foods, through Supreme Decree No. 017-2023-SA.

The amendment (SUPREME DECREE No. 017-2023-SA) establishes that it will be allowed to permanently place advertising warnings on the packaging of products by means of stickers or indelible printing in the case of imported products or micro and small companies.

Stickers must be difficult to remove, indelible, resistant to low or high temperatures depending on their use and of good adherence to the type of surface used, permanent and not cover information for the consumer.

Congressman Alcántara Martínez (PT) is promoting an initiative to reform the General Health Law.

Congressman Leobardo Alcántara Martínez (PT) is promoting an amendment to the General Health Law to establish that the labeling of sugary drinks in excess must include a legend warning about the harmful effects caused by their excessive consumption, such as obesity and diabetes.

The initiative that amends Articles 212 and 215 of said legal norm, submitted to the Health Commission for its opinion and to the Economy, Commerce and Competitiveness Commission for its opinion, also proposes that the front labeling of food and non-alcoholic beverages should warn about the ailments associated with the consumption of these products.

In the explanatory memorandum, it recognizes that, in spite of the institutional efforts of the Mexican State to combat the overweight and obesity epidemic, “the data are still alarming”. The National Health and Nutrition Survey (ENSANUT) 2018-2019 points out that overweight and obesity continue to be a problem that is highly present in all age groups and regions of the country, as well as in urban and rural areas.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is requesting information to help empower consumers with accurate, informative, and accessible food labeling. The purpose of this request is to obtain current information on the content, format, and accuracy of food label information that is presented to consumers through online grocery shopping platforms.

This guidance provides questions and answers on the use of Dietary Guidance Statements on packaged food labels or in the labeling of conventional foods. It is intended to provide our current thinking on the use of Dietary Guidance Statements (i.e., statements relating a food or food group to a nutritious dietary pattern defined in greater detail in Q&A III.1) on packaged food labels and more broadly in the labeling of foods, including any written, printed, or graphic material accompanying a food, such as labeling on websites.

While 3.5 million Panamanians, out of a population of 4.4 million, are overweight and one in five is obese, according to official figures, the issue of front labeling of processed foods, in order to know their nutrients, is not even being discussed in the National Assembly.
Yaidelis González, alternate deputy and proponent of the “front labeling of nutritional warning” bill, said that it is in a legislative subcommittee, “which has only met once”.

“Unfortunately, it has not been a priority of the commission to discuss” the bill, she acknowledged.