14/03/2021
Mexico’s new food warning label law, which requires black informational octagons to be placed on packaged foods that are high in saturated fat, trans fat, sugar, sodium or calories, went into effect in December 2020.
In addition, the law states that products containing caffeine and sweeteners must bear warning labels indicating that they should not be consumed by children, and products with warning labels cannot include children’s characters, animations, cartoons, or images of celebrities, athletes or pets on their packaging.
I had seen this on the news, but now in Mexico I got a first hand look at the new packaging. At first glance, people may have assumed that a multi-grain bar would be a more healthy option in the variety of snacks available in every corner store. But this almond and multigrain bar has the same warning labels as the cookies and donuts right next to it.
During my call this morning, one person shared that while he worked at Nabisco, they marketed a new cookie product that was healthier. Remember ? People were more likely to finish the whole pack and buy more products because they assumed they were a healthier option. Nabisco made a lot of money with that junk by playing in peoples emotions and lack of awareness about the ingredients in the food.
