Two years after the approval of the Frontal Labeling Law in the National Congress, we continue to demand its correct implementation.
After the enactment of the FrontalLabeling Law, how do we continue?
Two years after the approval of the Frontal Labeling Law in the National Congress, we continue to demand its correct implementation. What do the labels imply? Why are they important? What do we see today on the shelves and what remains to be done?
“Goodbye to the astronaut child”, “I thought it was light”, “No more surprise?”, “They ruin everything”, “It could be a better law”, “A project that serves no purpose”. Since the warning labels emerged with the Frontal Labeling Law, we continue to hear criticisms of it. Consumers grieve when they discover that the products they thought were healthy are not. They never were, we just know it now.
The Healthy Food Promotion Act
On October 26, 2021, the Law for the Promotion of Healthy Eating, better known as the Frontal Labeling Law, was approved in the Chamber of Deputies.
According to the results of the 4th National Survey of Risk Factors (2019), in Argentina, Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs) are responsible for 73.4% of deaths1 and are the leading cause of death in the country. One of the main causes of NCDs is poor diet, channeled in the excess consumption of critical nutrients (sugars, calories, sodium, total fat and saturated fat). These are the same nutrients we see today on warning labels.
The Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) recognizes Front-of-Food Labeling as a clear policy for prventing NCDs, since it makes it easier for consumers to choose healthy products, directly impacting on their diet.
A law that unmasked ultra-processed products
In August 2021, the implementation of the Law began in Argentina; however, there is no guarantee that it is being properly implemented.
Today we find an increasing presence of seals on products. It also happens that some products confuse us because they still do not have them, and others that do have them but coexist with a remaining stock elaborated prior to the implementation of the law. This impact is compounded by the lack of education and information provided by the Ministry of Health about the law, which leads to a lack of knowledge even on the part of health professionals. Many of them, who are well aware of the Law, criticized it because of their conflicts of interest with the food industry.
This generates at the same time a duel on the part of consumers, who discover that products they thought were “good”, “light” or “healthy” are not; or they compare products by the number of seals they have – which are not comparable because they are different families of products, such as cheese and mayonnaise – and are frustrated in their purchase. The grief, also, is due to the attachment that people have with the brands that historically have sold us an illusion or promise of life: today we find that what we used to give our children to grow up with is a ball of sugar. And all this generates rejection. But public policies are democratic, and this implies that they put us all on an equal footing. We all receive the same information to be able to decide, nothing is being prohibited.
Why do some products still not have seals?
The Law establishes that those processed and ultra-processed food products and beverages with excess added sugars, sodium, calories, total fat and/or saturated fat, according to PAHO’s nutrient profiling system, must carry black octagons. In addition, those products containing caffeine and/or sweeteners must bear a cautionary seal to warn that their consumption is harmful to children.
The regulation of the norm contemplates a gradual implementation, different for SMEs and large companies. In addition to this, several brands have asked for extensions that we still do not know about. Let us not be confused, although all products will not carry labels, the fact that a product does not have them today does not mean that it does not have to have them. In addition, it also varies due to stock replenishment, where many products manufactured prior to the Law are still displayed on the shelves.
Last but not least, many companies do not comply with the Law using different strategies: they put the seals on the back of the product when they should be on the front; they use characters that are attractive to children when choosing; or they use legends – such as “0% trans fats” or “Source of calcium” – when products with at least one seal cannot include complementary nutritional information. These non-compliances can be denounced in the citizen participation platform that we carry out together with a network of civil society organizations: https://nolodejemospasar.org/.
What challenges lie ahead?
While the most well-known points of the Law are the labels on products and the way they are advertised, this is not the only thing that this policy regulates: it also influences public procurement and school environments. But why do these points differ? Precisely because they depend on the adherence of the provinces and the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires and their own regulations on these points. To date, only seven provinces have adhered to the standard. For further information on this, please consult the Regulatory Map of Front Labeling in Argentina, a tool for citizens developed by the Foundation for the Development of Sustainable Policies and Fundación Sanar.
Protection of children and adolescents
The law seeks to protect children, not only from the misleading advertising mentioned above, but also by guaranteeing healthy school environments. This last point is in danger due to the lack of adhesion of the provinces.
This concept contemplates the entry of products with seals to school canteens and kiosks, and is directly related to public procurement, since it regulates the state’s choice in its purchases to prioritize products without seals. So that the Law does not only represent a benefit for those of us who can choose what to consume, either because of our age or socioeconomic conditions, it is essential that these axes of the Law are properly implemented in each of the jurisdictions. For that, we need all the provinces to adhere to the integral Law.
Although we see great progress, there is still much to be done. From Consciente Colectivo we will continue to advocate for the proper implementation of the Law, as a gateway to other public policies towards food sovereignty and to ensure the right to healthy food. Eating properly should not be a privilege.
*Por Ariana Krochik