food labeling

Mexico – Proposal in the Chamber of Deputies that sugar-sweetened beverages should warn that excessive consumption can cause obesity and diabetes

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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.

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

USA – FDA Requests Information on Food Labeling in Grocery E-Commerce

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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.

For further information, you can access the original in English
2023-08543Download

USA – Draft Guidance for Industry: Questions and Answers About Dietary Guidance Statements in Food Labeling

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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.

For further information, you can access the original source

draftguidance-dietaryguidancestatementsmarch2023-03212023Download

Panama – Food labeling in Panama: a forgotten issue in the National Assembly

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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.

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

Article – Sweetener purchases in Chile before and after implementing a policy for food labeling, marketing, and sales in schools

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Background

Chile’s landmark food labeling and advertising policy led to major reductions in sugar purchases. However, it is unclear whether this led to increases in purchases of nonnutritive sweeteners (NNS).

Objective

To assess the changes in NNS and caloric-sweetened (CS) products purchased after the law’s first phase.

Methods

Longitudinal data on food and beverage purchases from 2,381 households collected from January 1, 2015 to December 31, 2017 were linked to nutritional information and categorized into added sweetener groups (unsweetened, NNS-only, CS-only, or NNS with CS). Logistic random-effects models and fixed-effects models were used to compare the percentage of households purchasing products and the mean volume purchased by sweetener category to a counterfactual based on pre-regulation trends.

Findings

Compared with the counterfactual, the percentage of households purchasing any NNS beverages (NNS-only or NNS with CS) increased by 4.2 percentage points [pp] (95% CI 2.8 to 5.7; p<0.01). This increase was driven by households purchasing NNS-only beverages (12.1 pp, 95% CI 10.0 to 14.2; p<0.01). The purchased volume of beverages with any NNS increased by 25.4 mL/person/day (95% CI 20.1 to 30.7; p<0.01) or 26.5%. Relative to the counterfactual, there were declines of -5.9 pp in households purchasing CS-only beverages (95% CI -7.0 to -4.7; p<0.01). Regarding the types of sweeteners purchased, we found significant increases in the amounts of sucralose, aspartame, acesulfame K, and steviol glycosides purchased from beverages. Among foods, differences were minimal.

Conclusion

The first phase of Chile’s law was associated with an increase in the purchases of beverages containing NNS and decreases in beverages containing CS, but virtually no changes in foods.

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