Argentina's Parliament Passes Front Labeling Law for Food Products

On 26 October 2021 the House of Representatives of Argentina passed a bill to promote healthy eating. The draft law affects the labeling of food products by adding new requirements. When the president signs the bill, it will become law and be mandatory after its publication in the Official Gazette.

Verisk 3E Review 

The draft Law to Promote Healthy Eating establishes the obligation for the food industry to alert consumers to the excessive amounts of sugar, sodium, saturated fats, total fats, and calories in food. The draft law promotes the provision of clear, timely, and truthful information based on Articles 4 and 5 of the Consumer Defense Law (Law No. 24.240) to prevent non-transmissible diseases and guarantee health rights in Argentina. All entities that manufacture, produce, import, package, distribute, and market nonalcoholic foods and beverages for human consumption in Argentina will be subject to this law. The provisions will also apply to entities that have put their trademark on labels or are part of the chain of their commercialization.

The draft law contains definitions for healthy eating, nutrients, front labeling, advertising, and sponsorship, among others. It also establishes limits for food products with a "high content of calories, sugars, saturated fats, total fats, and sodium" and establishes requirements for labeling such products. According to Articles 5 and 6 of the draft law, the limits will be set following the nutrient profile of the Panamerican Health Organization (PAHO), and labeling requirements established by the law are complementary to the MERCOSUR labeling requirements.

Finally, for food and nonalcoholic beverages that must bear a front label warning of unhealthy content, the draft law will prohibit the placement of the following information on labels:

• Supplementary nutritional information
• Logos or phrases with sponsorship or endorsements of scientific societies or civil associations
• Cartoons, celebrities, athletes, or pets, interactive elements, promises of gifts, prizes, accessories, stickers, visual-space games, digital downloads, or any other element, as well as the participation or promise of participation in contests, games, sporting, musical, theatrical or cultural events that incite, promote, or encourage the consumption or purchase of such product  

Verisk 3E Analysis 

When the draft Law to Promote Healthy Eating is signed by the president and published in the Official Gazette, the new requirements and prohibitions will affect manufacturing and marketing. Compliance with this law will be required in order to market food products in Argentina.