Estimated effects of the implementation of the Mexican warning labels regulation on the use of health and nutrition claims on packaged foods
Abstract Background The use of health and nutrition claims on front-of-pack labels may impact consumers’ food choices; therefore, many countries have established regulations to avoid misinformation. This study describes the prevalence of health and nutrition claims on the front-of-pack of food produ...
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doaj-de24df3a04e946fa8787207e52383f0e2021-06-13T11:34:42ZengBMCInternational Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity1479-58682021-06-0118111210.1186/s12966-021-01148-1Estimated effects of the implementation of the Mexican warning labels regulation on the use of health and nutrition claims on packaged foodsCarlos Cruz-Casarrubias0Lizbeth Tolentino-Mayo1Stefanie Vandevijvere2Simón Barquera3Centro de Investigación en Nutrición y Salud, Instituto Nacional de Salud PúblicaCentro de Investigación en Nutrición y Salud, Instituto Nacional de Salud PúblicaDepartment of Epidemiology and Statistics, School of Population health, The University of AucklandCentro de Investigación en Nutrición y Salud, Instituto Nacional de Salud PúblicaAbstract Background The use of health and nutrition claims on front-of-pack labels may impact consumers’ food choices; therefore, many countries have established regulations to avoid misinformation. This study describes the prevalence of health and nutrition claims on the front-of-pack of food products in retail stores in Mexico and estimate the potential effects of the Official Mexican Standards 051 (new regulation that includes specifications for implementing warning labels and other packaging elements such as health and nutrition claims on less healthy foods) on the prevalence of these claims. Methods This is a cross-sectional study in which health and nutrition claims, nutrition information panels, and the list of ingredients of all foods and beverages available in the main retail stores in Mexico City were collected. The products were grouped by level of processing according to the NOVA food system classification. Claims were classified using the internationally harmonized INFORMAS taxonomy. According to the criteria of the new Mexican front-of-pack labelling regulation, the effect on the reduction on the prevalence of health and nutrition claims was estimated by type of food and by energy and nutrients of concern thresholds. Results Of 17,264 products, 33.8% displayed nutrition claims and 3.4% health claims. In total, 80.8% of all products in the Mexican market were classified as “less healthy”; 48.2% of products had excess calories, 44.6% had excess sodium, and 40.7% excess free sugars. The new regulation would prevent 39.4% of products with claims from displaying health and nutrition claims (P < 0.001); the largest reduction is observed for ultra-processed foods (51.1%, P < 0.001). The regulation thresholds that resulted in the largest reduction of claims were calories (OR 0.62, P < 0.001) and non-sugar sweeteners (OR 0.54, P < 0.001). Conclusions The new Mexican front-of-pack labelling regulation will prevent most processed and ultra-processed foods from displaying health and nutrition claims and will potentially improve information on packaging for consumers.https://doi.org/10.1186/s12966-021-01148-1Ultra-processed foodsNutrient profileHealth claimsNutrition claims |
collection |
DOAJ |
language |
English |
format |
Article |
sources |
DOAJ |
author |
Carlos Cruz-Casarrubias Lizbeth Tolentino-Mayo Stefanie Vandevijvere Simón Barquera |
spellingShingle |
Carlos Cruz-Casarrubias Lizbeth Tolentino-Mayo Stefanie Vandevijvere Simón Barquera Estimated effects of the implementation of the Mexican warning labels regulation on the use of health and nutrition claims on packaged foods International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity Ultra-processed foods Nutrient profile Health claims Nutrition claims |
author_facet |
Carlos Cruz-Casarrubias Lizbeth Tolentino-Mayo Stefanie Vandevijvere Simón Barquera |
author_sort |
Carlos Cruz-Casarrubias |
title |
Estimated effects of the implementation of the Mexican warning labels regulation on the use of health and nutrition claims on packaged foods |
title_short |
Estimated effects of the implementation of the Mexican warning labels regulation on the use of health and nutrition claims on packaged foods |
title_full |
Estimated effects of the implementation of the Mexican warning labels regulation on the use of health and nutrition claims on packaged foods |
title_fullStr |
Estimated effects of the implementation of the Mexican warning labels regulation on the use of health and nutrition claims on packaged foods |
title_full_unstemmed |
Estimated effects of the implementation of the Mexican warning labels regulation on the use of health and nutrition claims on packaged foods |
title_sort |
estimated effects of the implementation of the mexican warning labels regulation on the use of health and nutrition claims on packaged foods |
publisher |
BMC |
series |
International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity |
issn |
1479-5868 |
publishDate |
2021-06-01 |
description |
Abstract Background The use of health and nutrition claims on front-of-pack labels may impact consumers’ food choices; therefore, many countries have established regulations to avoid misinformation. This study describes the prevalence of health and nutrition claims on the front-of-pack of food products in retail stores in Mexico and estimate the potential effects of the Official Mexican Standards 051 (new regulation that includes specifications for implementing warning labels and other packaging elements such as health and nutrition claims on less healthy foods) on the prevalence of these claims. Methods This is a cross-sectional study in which health and nutrition claims, nutrition information panels, and the list of ingredients of all foods and beverages available in the main retail stores in Mexico City were collected. The products were grouped by level of processing according to the NOVA food system classification. Claims were classified using the internationally harmonized INFORMAS taxonomy. According to the criteria of the new Mexican front-of-pack labelling regulation, the effect on the reduction on the prevalence of health and nutrition claims was estimated by type of food and by energy and nutrients of concern thresholds. Results Of 17,264 products, 33.8% displayed nutrition claims and 3.4% health claims. In total, 80.8% of all products in the Mexican market were classified as “less healthy”; 48.2% of products had excess calories, 44.6% had excess sodium, and 40.7% excess free sugars. The new regulation would prevent 39.4% of products with claims from displaying health and nutrition claims (P < 0.001); the largest reduction is observed for ultra-processed foods (51.1%, P < 0.001). The regulation thresholds that resulted in the largest reduction of claims were calories (OR 0.62, P < 0.001) and non-sugar sweeteners (OR 0.54, P < 0.001). Conclusions The new Mexican front-of-pack labelling regulation will prevent most processed and ultra-processed foods from displaying health and nutrition claims and will potentially improve information on packaging for consumers. |
topic |
Ultra-processed foods Nutrient profile Health claims Nutrition claims |
url |
https://doi.org/10.1186/s12966-021-01148-1 |
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AT carloscruzcasarrubias estimatedeffectsoftheimplementationofthemexicanwarninglabelsregulationontheuseofhealthandnutritionclaimsonpackagedfoods AT lizbethtolentinomayo estimatedeffectsoftheimplementationofthemexicanwarninglabelsregulationontheuseofhealthandnutritionclaimsonpackagedfoods AT stefanievandevijvere estimatedeffectsoftheimplementationofthemexicanwarninglabelsregulationontheuseofhealthandnutritionclaimsonpackagedfoods AT simonbarquera estimatedeffectsoftheimplementationofthemexicanwarninglabelsregulationontheuseofhealthandnutritionclaimsonpackagedfoods |
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