Javier Firpo
10/30/2020 21:30
Clarín.com
Society
Updated 10/30/2020 9:30 PM
The Senate has just approved, this Thursday, the bill for the
Front Labeling of Foods
, which establishes the placement of a series of stamps on the front of the containers of products with
high content of sodium, sugars, saturated fats, total fat and calories.
What is the most important purpose?
Combat the problems of overweight and obesity, which the Ministry of Health defines as
"the most silent pandemic
.
"
However, the law received several criticisms.
Nutritionist and researcher at the Inter-American Heart Foundation Argentina (FIC), Leila Guarnieri confirms "the concern generated by obesity and the diseases associated with this epidemic. 66% of adults suffer from obesity or overweight, the same as 41% of children and adolescents up to 18 years of age and 13.6% of those under five years of age ".
For these figures, he points out, "no urgency to enact this labeling law,
which will allow consumers to
have an immediate purchase decision,
today, has clearly not".
Why don't you have it?
"Because
today foods present confusing and misleading information
, in addition to the fact that many manufacturers managed to provide that information on the fold of the container or on a sheet, in order to make the content more illegible. Now,
with the black octagons and the white letters, there will be no room for doubt
. "
According to the Pan American Health Organization, regional evidence supports this model as the most effective.
If the Chamber of Deputies approves the law, the food will have those black octagons with a white border and capital letters.
The size of the seal may never be less than 5% of the surface of the main face of the container
or be covered (partially or totally) by any other element.
The maximum values for calories, total sugars, saturated fat and sodium must comply with the nutrient profile of the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO).
From the Coordinator of the Food Products Industries (COPAL), its owner, Daniel Funes de Rioja, wants to make it clear that "
we are not opposed to labeling, but we are opposed to this unreasonable
, extreme
decision
, in which the The deterrent model of Chile was taken, which
is more similar to a skull, to a 'this is prohibited', and not to a magnifying glass
, which is the one used in Brazil, which highlights the composition of what is being buying".
As part of the industry, Funes de Rioja remarks that "unlike Chile, we are a food-producing and exporting country, which means that
with a seal like this we are digging a grave in trade
with different countries, such as For example, Brazil is not going to want to import a product with a black stamp. We will go to the Chamber of Deputies to propose a regional solution. "
The COPAL head is convinced that "
there is no empirical evidence to show that these octagons work and deter the buyer
. But on the other hand, we are talking about an informal market with great poverty, food education has changed and many people buy what it can. It won't stop to see if it has more salt or more sugar. We all understand the concern about obesity, but
packaged goods are not to blame
. "
Black warning stamps.
They have been used in Chile since 2016. Photo AP
For the renowned nutritionist Sergio Britos, a reference for the Center for Studies on Food Policies and Economics (CEPEA), "
the law is necessary, an advance and progress to catch up with
what is happening in other parts of the world and Argentina it had an outstanding debt that, if approved, it would be beginning to pay off. Why is it necessary? Because it is an important tool for overweight and obesity. "
For Britos, the statistics are overwhelming "to start doing something as soon as possible. There are about 25 million people with weight problems: 60% adults, 40% schoolchildren. Does the sealing system work? From CEPEA we understand that
it would be a bad law
, which would not be legislating with the best labeling model ".
Why?
"Because the warning system, as would be the one that would be implemented here,
will be a punitive model, which causes fear, which will impact only part of the problem
, such as excesses of critical nutrients. While in Europe, for example, it is the synthesis system, or traffic light,
which guides the consumer's food education
, providing options not only to the buyer but also to the producer ".
Britos also questions that "the criteria that classify food take as a model a development proposed by PAHO, which is irrational from the point of view of the fundamentals and its technique. That is, if the law is established,
the 92% of food in Argentina would be being discriminated against negatively ".
Percentage of warning that would not be true for Britos, "which would end up being a double talk, because the food guides recommend eating a cheese because it is part of dairy products but, at the same time, you will find yourself in the supermarket that will appear with two stamps: saturated fat and sodium. So,
what is the signal you want to send to the consumer?
"
The head of CEPEA points out that "in Chile they started with the labeling of black stamps four years ago. At the beginning you found 90% of the products with warning octagons, which drew attention and deterred the consumer who, after a After a while, he relaxed and began to be more flexible. The truth is that
in the last four years, obesity and overweight have grown in Chile
. And something similar will happen in Argentina. "
The bill has positive echoes in the ACELGA collective (Association of Cooks and Entrepreneurs Linked to Argentine Gastronomy).
One of its members, the cook Narda Lepes, says that "it is important because it
will help people to have information about the technology of many products
that we do not know about their production details. You buy a jar of anchovies and you know that it has oil and salt, you see it, but there are drinks or cookies, or puddings
that have a lot of sweetness but you don't notice it with the naked eye and you don't notice it in the taste either.
And this type of product is what most people buy. "
"If the buyer begins to realize in his kitchen that all the packages he opens have black stamps, he
will notice that he will have to go the other way, for fresh food,
which is the objective that this law seeks to promote That the person who eats food with black stamps rethinks the way they eat. It will be a law that will be effective, because it will take the model of Mexico, which has a nutritional profile that worked and that's where we go.
It is proven that it works, but it has to be accompanied by other things,
but without a doubt it is necessary. "
The project proposes that food or non-alcoholic beverage containers that contain at least one octagon cannot have supplementary nutritional information, logos, phrases, or children's characters, celebrities, athletes or pets and the promise of gifts, prizes and gifts in their products, that incite, promote or encourage their consumption, purchase or choice.
"It would be a hard blow," says Gustavo Brizuela, president of Empresas de Publicidad Exterior (APE), an entity that also questions the law.
"It
will only have restrictions and that they keep advertisers away
. I think that today, from our sector, it is possible to educate and inform with creative phrases and content. We can also reach 16-year-old adolescents who can now vote with our messages. Can they vote and don't know how to choose a product on the shelf? "
Brizuela cannot depart from the context and the moment that the sector is going through and that
"will hit 80% of advertising SMEs
. No property can be highlighted or have any idol."
For the head of APE, "the labeling law will put the advertising sector at risk of work, so we hope to be part of the discussion in the Chamber of Deputies.
we are dedicated to communication, I think we
can agree on the way to communicate
".
ACE
