This week, the Supreme Court of Justice of Mexico (SCJN) will resolve three appeals against the front labeling of industrialized foods. In all cases, the draft rulings order to ratify the constitutionality of this regulation, stating that the right to health of consumers is superior to the interests of the market.

The first of these amparos, filed by the company El corazón del fruto SA de CV, was scheduled to be voted on last year, but the judges of the second chamber decided to postpone it in order to resolve the three cases on the same issue simultaneously.

The other amparos were filed by Herdez SA de CV, and by Santa Clara Mercantil de Pachuca SA.

All the draft rulings coincide in denying the amparos requested, due to the fact that the purpose of the challenged NOM is legitimate: “to avoid the consumption, preferably in minors, of those products containing added caffeine (immediate purpose), since said alkaloid is the one used in carbonated beverages which, as well as other ultra-processed products, are associated with the development of non-communicable diseases, such as diabetes, one of the main causes of mortality in Mexico”, states Minister Alberto Pérez Dayán in one of the proposed rulings.