Consumer

Mexico, off to nutritional warnings on the label front

February 10, 2020

Childhood overweight and obesity. To the extreme evil of globesity, Mexico-like already Chile, Peru and Uruguay-responds with mandatory nutrition warnings on the front label of foods and beverages HFSS(High in Fats, Sugar and Sodium). Between warning labels and NutriScore, some brief reflections.

Mexico health emergency

UNICEF and other international public health agencies have been reporting an ‘epidemiological emergency’ in Mexico for years. Child and adolescent obesity, overweight and related diseases, diabetes first and foremost, affect 36.5 percent of children 5-11 years old) and 38.4 percent of 12-19 year olds. A scenario that is not even far removed from the Italian scenario where-as seen in the Eurispes 31.1.20 report-30.6 percent of children are overweight (21.3 percent) or obese (9.3 percent). (1)

Obesity and overweight-not surprisingly referred to as one of the three factors in the
Global Syndemic
, in the study of the same name by The Lancet Commission on Obesity – lead to the development of diabetes, cardiovascular and metabolic diseases. In the broader context of serious and chronicNon-Communicable Diseases (NCDs) associated with the consumption of ultra-processed and junk-foods. Acute inflammation, DNA alterations and immune system deficits, fatty liver syndrome, cancers, and premature mortality. (2)

The siege of ultra-processed foods

‘What we find in families with high marginalization and children with obesity or malnutrition is the invasion of their spaces, their homes, with ultra-processed foods. These foods and brands have penetrated their intimacy, won their trust. But they are foods that can lead to malnutrition and obesity (…) they are the real garbage. And it’s time to reclaim our food landscape, to revalue our food’ (Julieta Ponce, director of the Centro de Orientación Alimentaria, COA Nutrición).

The invasion of food-immunisation is recognized by every local and international health agency as the primary cause of the current health epidemic. The ‘pattern’ of compulsive consumption of carbonated and sugary beverages instead of water, high-calorie snacks in place of fruit outside meals, has demolished the Mexican food tradition. On par with what has happened in Europe, in countries that were the cradle of the Mediterranean diet and now soar in the prevalence of childhood obesity.

The alchemy of fat, sugar and salt-in ultra-processed foods moreover generates physical as well as psychological dependence. Indeed, numerous scientific studies show that these kinds of products activate mechanisms similar to those stimulated by alcohol and tobacco. It is therefore all the more essential to introduce clear information on the label front regarding the risks associated with their consumption. And studies conducted in Mexico, Chile, Peru and Uruguay show that nutrition warnings on HFSS foods are the most effective form of communication. (3)

The Mexican revolution, #EtiquetadoClaroYa!

Mexico has already demonstrated the ability to prioritize public health over private interests. It introduced a tax on sugary drinks in 2014, the effectiveness of which has also been praised by the World Health Organization (WHO). The Mexican parliament is working on milk sounding, meat sounding, and limits on theaddition of water to meats, among other issues.

#EtiquetadoClaroYa! is the name of the project ushering in 2020 with a major reform of Mexico’s official food labeling standard (NOM-051-SCFI / SSA1-2010). The new rules, soon to be in the Official Gazette, prescribe the following:

– Adoption of nutrition profiles prepared by the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), in line with WHO (or WHO, World Health Organization) recommendations,

– mandatory nutrition warning on the front label of foods that are found to be excessive in calories, sugar, sodium, saturated fatty acids and trans fatty acids based on the above nutrition profiles. The warnings must come in a special format, white on black, within an octagonal-shaped box,

– Elimination of the so-called GDAs(Guideline Daily Amounts) developed by Big Food to provide summary nutritional information that involves stating the share of ‘critical’ energy and micronutrients offered by a portion of a food relative to an ‘average daily requirement,’ (4)

– warning about the presence of caffeine and artificial sweeteners as ‘ingredients not recommended for consumption by children’,

– Restrictions on the use of ‘characters and designs aimed at children’. For the express purpose of limiting the use of persuasive information, such as characters and drawings that ‘manipulate people’s, particularly children’s, decisions to choose unhealthy products.’ (5)

#etiquetadosclaros, the reasons for success

The #etiquetadosclaros program-which finds full expression in the current Mexican reform-was developed through synergy among international agencies, higher education centers, professional and civil society associations, and research centers. In collaboration with federal agencies Cofepris(Comisión Federal para la Protección contra Riesgos Sanitarios) and Profeco(Procuraduría Federal del Consumidor) and ministries (Economy, Health, Agriculture and Rural Development, Environment and Natural Resources, Labor and Social Welfare, Communications and Transportation, Welfare, Energy, Tourism).

The reform was preceded by an extensive consultation of all stakeholders that gathered more than 5 thousand comments. And it was declared by representatives in Mexico of UNICEF, WHO, FAO and PAHO ‘one of the most cost-effective measures to properly guide households in food selection and consumption and reverse the distortions caused by highly processed products in recent decades’‘.

Between warning labels and NutriScore

The industrial reaction to the Mexican reform was very negative, as expected. Precisely because of the impact it may have on sales of HFSS ultra-processed foods in a market of about 129 million people. And of the domino effect it may have in other countries on the planet. (6)

It is easy to foresee new pressure from the U.S. and Canada on the working tables of international free trade negotiations(NAFTA, CETA). The Italian government itself has long declared war on nutrient profiles and synthetic nutrition information on the label front, in the European and WHO (WHO).

Therefore, the NutriScore system-already widely used in several countries on the Old Continent, as well as the subject of a special European Citizens Initiative-deserves more careful consideration. What a reasonable compromise between priority public health needs and industrial concerns of discrimination against certain foods. With respect for the democratic choices made in Mexico and other states, and above all in awareness of a global health emergency.

Dario Dongo

Notes

(1) The Italian situation unfortunately looks set to worsen. The report ‘Childhood Malnutrition in Italy and the World’ (2018), by the Gaslini Children’s Hospital in Genoa and the Helpcode Association, indicates that 53 percent of Italian minors exaggerate in out-of-meal consumption of junk food, 36 percent consume carbonated and sugary drinks every day. Data consistent with those expressed in the first ‘Italian Obesity Barometer Report’ in April 2019 (see https://www.greatitalianfoodtrade .it/salute/obesità-in-italia-un-paese-malato).
Diabetes in Italy in young people aged 20-30 has consequently doubled in the past 10 years to 150 thousand cases (95% of which are type 2 diabetes, associated with excessive sugar and salt consumption). As exhibited at the ‘Panorama Diabetes’ congress on 8-13.3.19 in Riccione, Italy (see. Note 5 to the previous article https://www.greatitalianfoodtrade.it/progresso/salute-a-scuola-belle-parole-in-accordo-stato-regioni)

(2) On ultra-processed foods, junk-food and premature mortality see scientific studies cited in previous articles https://www.greatitalianfoodtrade.it/salute/alimenti-ultraprocessati-e-mortalità-prematura-due-studi-scientifici, https://www.greatitalianfoodtrade.it/salute/bevande-zuccherate-e-dolcificate-snack-dolci-studi-su-mortalità-prematura-e-sugar-tax.

(3)
Alianza por la Salud Alimentaria
, location and rationale with scientific bibliography, at https://alianzasalud.org.mx/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/d-2002-etiquetado-hi-util-a-industria-no-al-consumidor-ante-oposicion-d-la-idustria.pdf. Learn more at https://etiquetadosclaros.org/la-evidencia-cientifica/

(4) The so-called GuidelineDaily Amounts (GDAs) were introduced in Europe, labeled ‘Reference Intakes‘(Reference Intakes), on a voluntary basis in reg. EU 1169/11.

(5) The exposure of minors and their mothers to the aggressive and educational marketing of HFSS foods has been the subject of recent studies, devoted to the campaigns of Coca-Cola and Ferrero. See previous articles https://www.greatitalianfoodtrade.it/consum-attori/coca-cola-falsa-propaganda-su-salute-e-benessere-rivolta-ai-teenager-studio-scientifico, https://www.greatitalianfoodtrade.it/sicurezza/bambini-e-cibo-spazzatura-pubblicizzato-su-youtube-il-caso-del-nutella-day.

(6) The
warning labels
, or nutrition warnings on the front label, are currently considered in several countries around the world, including India. See Amit Khurana, Junk food monster: Global practice is moving to warning labels. Down to Earth, 17.12.19, https://www-downtoearth-org-in.cdn.ampproject.org/c/s/www.downtoearth.org.in/news/food/amp/junk-food-monster-global-practice-is-moving-to-warning-labels-68423. On nutrition policies in India, see also https://www.greatitalianfoodtrade.it/progresso/junk-food-espulso-dalla-scuola-l-esempio-in-india.