Estimated effects of the implementation of the Mexican warning labels regulation on the use of health and nutrition claims on packaged foods.

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.

The impact of voluntary front-of-pack nutrition labelling on packaged food reformulation: A difference-in-differences analysis of the Australasian Health Star Rating scheme.

BACKGROUND: Front-of-pack nutrition labelling (FoPL) of packaged foods can promote healthier diets. Australia and New Zealand (NZ) adopted the voluntary Health Star Rating (HSR) scheme in 2014. We studied the impact of voluntary adoption of HSR on food reformulation relative to unlabelled foods and examined differential impacts for more-versus-less healthy foods. METHODS AND FINDINGS: Annual nutrition information panel data were collected for nonseasonal packaged foods sold in major supermarkets in Auckland from 2013 to 2019 and in Sydney from 2014 to 2018. The analysis sample covered 58,905 unique products over 14 major food groups. We used a difference-in-differences design to estimate reformulation associated with HSR adoption. Healthier products adopted HSR more than unhealthy products: >35% of products that achieved 4 or more stars displayed the label compared to <15% of products that achieved 2 stars or less. Products that adopted HSR were 6.5% and 10.7% more likely to increase their rating by ≥0.5 stars in Australia and NZ, respectively. Labelled products showed a -4.0% [95% confidence interval (CI): -6.4% to -1.7%, p = 0.001] relative decline in sodium content in NZ, and there was a -1.4% [95% CI: -2.7% to -0.0%, p = 0.045] sodium change in Australia. HSR adoption was associated with a -2.3% [-3.7% to -0.9%, p = 0.001] change in sugar content in NZ and a statistically insignificant -1.1% [-2.3% to 0.1%, p = 0.061] difference in Australia. Initially unhealthy products showed larger reformulation effects when adopting HSR than healthier products. No evidence of a change in protein or saturated fat content was observed. A limitation of our study is that results are not sales weighted. Thus, it is not able to assess changes in overall nutrient consumption that occur because of HSR-caused reformulation. Also, participation into labelling and reformulation is jointly determined by producers in this observational study, impacting its generalisability to settings with mandatory labelling. CONCLUSIONS: In this study, we observed that reformulation changes following voluntary HSR labelling are small, but greater for initially unhealthy products. Initially unhealthy foods were, however, less likely to adopt HSR. Our results, therefore, suggest that mandatory labelling has the greatest potential for improving the healthiness of packaged foods.

Predicting obesity reduction after implementing warning labels in Mexico: A modeling study.

BACKGROUND: In October 2019, Mexico approved a law to establish that nonalcoholic beverages and packaged foods that exceed a threshold for added calories, sugars, fats, trans fat, or sodium should have an "excess of" warning label. We aimed to estimate the expected reduction in the obesity prevalence and obesity costs in Mexico by introducing warning labels, over 5 years, among adults under 60 years of age. METHODS AND FINDINGS: Baseline intakes of beverages and snacks were obtained from the 2016 Mexican National Health and Nutrition Survey. The expected impact of labels on caloric intake was obtained from an experimental study, with a 10.5% caloric reduction for beverages and 3.0% caloric reduction for snacks. The caloric reduction was introduced into a dynamic model to estimate weight change. The model output was then used to estimate the expected changes in the prevalence of obesity and overweight. To predict obesity costs, we used the Health Ministry report of the impact of overweight and obesity in Mexico 1999-2023. We estimated a mean caloric reduction of 36.8 kcal/day/person (23.2 kcal/day from beverages and 13.6 kcal/day from snacks). Five years after implementation, this caloric reduction could reduce 1.68 kg and 4.98 percentage points (pp) in obesity (14.7%, with respect to baseline), which translates into a reduction of 1.3 million cases of obesity and a reduction of US$1.8 billion in direct and indirect costs. Our estimate is based on experimental evidence derived from warning labels as proposed in Canada, which include a single label and less restrictive limits to sugar, sodium, and saturated fats. Our estimates depend on various assumptions, such as the transportability of effect estimates from the experimental study to the Mexican population and that other factors that could influence weight and food and beverage consumption remain unchanged. Our results will need to be corroborated by future observational studies through the analysis of changes in sales, consumption, and body weight. CONCLUSIONS: In this study, we estimated that warning labels may effectively reduce obesity and obesity-related costs. Mexico is following Chile, Peru, and Uruguay in implementing warning labels to processed foods, but other countries could benefit from this intervention.

Analytical Approaches for Analysis of Safety of Modern Food Packaging: A Review.

Nowadays, food packaging is a crucial tool for preserving food quality and has become an inseparable part of our daily life. Strong consumer demand and market trends enforce more advanced and creative forms of food packaging. New packaging development requires safety evaluations that always implicate the application of complex analytical methods. The present work reviews the development and application of new analytical methods for detection of possible food contaminants from the packaging origin on the quality and safety of fresh food. Among food contaminants migrants, set-off migrants from printing inks, polymer degradation products, and aromatic volatile compounds can be found that may compromise the safety and organoleptic properties of food. The list of possible chemical migrants is very wide and includes antioxidants, antimicrobials, intentionally added substances (IAS), non-intentionally added substances (NIAS), monomers, oligomers, and nanoparticles. All this information collected prior to the analysis will influence the type of analyzing samples and molecules (analytes) and therefore the selection of a convenient analytical method. Different analytical strategies will be discussed, including techniques for direct polymer analysis.

Scientific advances and challenges in safety evaluation of food packaging materials: Workshop proceedings.

Packaging is an indispensable component of the food manufacturing and food supply process. This scientific workshop was convened to bring together scientists from government, academia, and industry to discuss the state of the science regarding the safety of food packaging, prompted by rapidly advancing research to improve food packaging that continues to impact packaging technology, toxicology, exposure, risk assessment, and sustainability. The opening session focused on scientific challenges in the safety assessment of food packaging materials. Experts discussed migration of contaminant residues from food packaging, presented emerging analytical methods for safety evaluation, and highlighted the use of improved exposure assessment models and new packaging technologies. The workshop then focused on recycled packaging and sustainability. Experts also discussed application of recycled materials in food packaging, recycling processes, identification of contaminant residues from recycled packaging, and challenges in safety assessment of recycled materials. The workshop concluded with panel discussions that highlighted the challenges and research gaps in food packaging. Overall, there is a need to better understand and define "contaminants in food packaging" for developing appropriate testing methods needed to establish the significance of the migration levels of these contaminants and conduct appropriate safety assessments in this rapidly evolving field.

Tackling the Relevance of Packaging in Life Cycle Assessment of Virgin Olive Oil and the Environmental Consequences of Regulation.

Production and consumption of olive oil is very important in Europe, being this product a basic element in the Mediterranean diet since long ago. The project objective is two-fold: a study of the contribution of virgin olive oils (VOOs) usual packaging to the whole life cycle of the product and a study of the environmental consequences of the Spanish Government regulation on VOO packaging. A life cycle assessment (LCA) according to ISO 14044 has been performed using the CML methodology for the impact assessment. The results show that the packaging influence varies from 2 to 300%, depending on the impact category and type of packaging (glass, tin or polyethylene terephtalate). Glass, which is related to higher quality perception by consumers, was found to be the most influencing material (due to its weight); however, this impact may be fairly reduced by applying ecodesign strategies (such as weight reduction and recycled-glass percentage increase). A new Spanish regulation on the mandatory use of non-refillable oilers in HORECA establishments (hotels, restaurants and caterings) aims to provide more quality assurance and better information to consumers; however, it was also found to mean a 74% increase in greenhouse gases emissions. This regulation was deeply discussed at European level and its application was withdraw due to consumers rejection, except for Spain. The findings of the present case study show that LCA and ecodesign should be important tools to be promoted and applied in policy making to reduce non-desirable consequences of regulation.

Nutritional quality of packaged foods targeted at children in Brazil: which ones should be eligible to bear nutrient claims?

OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to assess the nutritional quality of food products marketed at children, with and without nutrient claims, using two different approaches. METHODS: Analyses were performed based on a data set with food composition and labelling data from every packaged food marketed at children sold in a major Brazilian supermarket (n=535). Foods were classified as 'healthier' and 'less healthy' according to the UK/Ofcom nutrient profile model and to the NOVA classification based on the level of food processing. Pearson's χ2 test was used to compare proportions between models. Agreement was assessed using Cohen's κ-statistic (P<0.05). RESULTS: The NOVA model was stricter than the UK/Ofcom model, classifying more products as 'less healthy' (91.4%) compared with the nutrient profile-based model (75.0%; P<0.001). Agreement between models was 79.4% (k=0.30), because 72.9% (n=390) of products were categorised as 'less healthy' by both models, and 6.5% (n=35) as 'healthier'. Half of the food products marketed at children from the database (270; 50.5%) bore nutrient claims. From these products with nutrient claims, 95.9% (92.8-98.0) were classified as 'less healthy' by the NOVA model, whereas this percentage was 74.1% (68.4-79.2) according to the UK/Ofcom model (P<0.05). CONCLUSIONS: The high number of foods with low nutritional quality being marketed at children via product packaging and nutrient claims should be of concern to policy makers wanting to improve children's diets and to tackle childhood obesity. The implementation of nutritional quality criteria to ensure that foods targeted at children should be eligible to bear nutrient claims on their labels could avoid a situation where claims mask the overall nutritional status of a food.

Reviewing the Nutrition and Health Claims Regulation (EC) No. 1924/2006: What do we know about its challenges and potential impact on innovation?

Health claims potentially represent an opportunity for firms to engage in product differentiation and thereby induce investment into R&D and innovation in the food sector. The Nutrition and Health Claims Regulation (EC) No. 1924/2006 (NHCR) aims at protecting and promoting innovation as one of its objectives. However, existing studies indicate that this regulation may create several challenges for innovation in the food sector. To this end, we review the challenges related to the NHCR (Article 13.1) and its impact on innovation. Extant literature suggests that companies face challenges related to changing list of ingredients, missing transparency, wording of claims, limited financial resources, limited R&D resources, switching product categories and abandoning the functional foods sector. Moreover, current studies imply that so far the NHCR (in specific Article 13.1) does not seem to encourage innovation in the EU food sector.

Exploring the Nutrition and Health Claims Regulation (EC) No. 1924/2006: What is the impact on innovation in the EU food sector?

Literature suggests that despite its positive aim of promoting innovation, the Nutrition and Health Claims Regulation (EC) No. 1924/2006 (NHCR) may bring along several compliance challenges, which might affect innovation in the EU food sector. This study investigates the challenges faced by companies to comply with the NHCR (specifically Article 13.1) and their impact on innovation. To this end, we conducted an online survey with 105 companies involved in the EU food sector. Results indicate that companies perceive wording of claims, missing transparency and limited financial resources as major challenges to comply with the NHCR (Article 13.1). Companies reported not to have increased their R&D expenditure or innovation activities after the NHCR (Article 13.1) was implemented. Thus, this study highlights specific compliance challenges related to the NHCR (Article 13.1) and indicates that currently, the regulation does not seem to have fostered innovation in the EU food sector.

Regulatory aspects of nanotechnology in the agri/feed/food sector in EU and non-EU countries.

Nanotechnology has the potential to innovate the agricultural, feed and food sectors (hereinafter referred to as agri/feed/food). Applications that are marketed already include nano-encapsulated agrochemicals or nutrients, antimicrobial nanoparticles and active and intelligent food packaging. Many nano-enabled products are currently under research and development, and may enter the market in the near future. As for any other regulated product, applicants applying for market approval have to demonstrate the safe use of such new products without posing undue safety risks to the consumer and the environment. Several countries all over the world have been active in examining the appropriateness of their regulatory frameworks for dealing with nanotechnologies. As a consequence of this, different approaches have been taken in regulating nano-based products in agri/feed/food. The EU, along with Switzerland, were identified to be the only world region where nano-specific provisions have been incorporated in existing legislation, while in other regions nanomaterials are regulated more implicitly by mainly building on guidance for industry. This paper presents an overview and discusses the state of the art of different regulatory measures for nanomaterials in agri/feed/food, including legislation and guidance for safety assessment in EU and non-EU countries.

Children's knowledge of packaged and fast food brands and their BMI. Why the relationship matters for policy makers.

Studies regarding the advancing challenges of obesity in many countries are beginning to converge on the importance of early food exposure and consumption patterns. Across two studies (Study 1, 34 boys, 35 girls; Study 2, 40 boys, 35 girls, ages 3-6), child knowledge of brands offering products high in sugar, salt and fat was shown to be a significant predictor of child BMI, even after controlling for their age and gender and when also considering the extent of their TV viewing. Additionally, two different collage measures of brand knowledge (utilized across the two studies) performed similarly, suggesting that this measure may be serving as a surrogate indicator of an overall pattern of product exposure and consumption. Policy implications are discussed.

Release of bisphenol A from polycarbonate: a review.

The release of Bisphenol A (BPA) from polycarbonate baby bottles into food and food simulants is reviewed in the perspective of the current intensive discussions on the risks of this substance. Potential factors that have been reported to influence the release of BPA are reviewed. Unlike most polymers polycarbonate is hydrolyzed under alkaline conditions by scale formation, residual alkaline detergents and boiled water. Data suggest that brushing of the bottle did not raise the release of BPA. Claims that used bottles release more BPA than new bottles and that mineral composition of the aqueous food simulant affect release could not be substantiated. There are indications that aminolysis of polycarbonate by milk and ethanolysis of polycarbonate by 50% ethanol might take place under relevant test conditions. The relatively few migration data following the test conditions of European food contact material legislation, comply with the specific migration limit. Two test conditions were identified that reflect real use and exposure, and might cause higher release of BPA compared to the test conditions of European food contact material legislation. Further detailed studies are necessary to verify whether these two exposure scenarios are more severe.

Bisphenol A: a body of evidence supporting exposure reduction.

The "tolerable daily intake" of bisphenol A, established by the European and US regulatory agencies, is based on a small number of reproductive toxicity studies in animals, mostly funded by industry, using protocols that adhere to regulatory guidelines. Many scientists consider these regulatory toxicology tests unsuitable for the evaluation of endocrine disrupters, because they cannot be used to demonstrate the effects of low doses of bisphenol A, observed in dozens of independent studies. Results obtained in studies of high doses of bisphenol A have been extrapolated to predict the effects of low-dose exposure, according to the principle that "the dose makes the poison". The validity of this extrapolation is disputed. Some human studies suggest that bisphenol A causes coronary heart disease, increases the risk of type 2 diabetes, and has harmful effects on reproduction and development. Considerable data from rodent studies suggest that low doses of bisphenol A affect reproduction, lipid metabolism and neurological development, usually following intrauterine or postnatal exposure. In France, the use of bisphenol A in infant feeding bottles has been banned since 30 June 2010, and in food packaging intended for children aged 0 to 3 years since 1 January 2013. The ban is due to be extended to all food packaging as of 1 January 2015. Bisphenol A is not the only substance present in food packaging that could interfere with endocrine function. Too little is known yet about the toxicology of bisphenol A substitutes. Several studies have shown that exposure to bisphenol A in adults and children can be greatly reduced by choosing a varied diet based on fresh foods, and by avoiding the use of plastic tableware. To reduce exposure to bisphenol A and other chemicals with hormonal activity that are present in food packaging, it seems reasonable to encourage the consumption of fresh foods, avoiding canned food and plastic packaging for storing and reheating food and beverages. These precautionary measures are most important for food and beverages intended for pregnant women and young children.

Understanding critical factors for the quality and shelf-life of MAP fresh meat: a review.

Due to increased demands for greater stringency in relation to hygiene and safety issues associated with fresh food products, coupled with ever-increasing demands by retailers for cost-effective extensions to product shelf-lives and the requirement to meet consumer expectations in relation to convenience and quality, the food packaging industry has rapidly developed to meet and satisfy expectations. One of the areas of research that has shown promise, and had success, is modified atmosphere packaging (MAP). The success of MAP-fresh meat depends on many factors including good initial product quality, good hygiene from the source plants, correct packaging material selection, the appropriate gas mix for the product, reliable packaging equipment, and maintenance of controlled temperatures and humidity levels. Advances in plastic materials and equipment have propelled advances in MAP, but other technological and logistical considerations are needed for successful MAP systems for raw chilled meat. Although several parameters critical for the quality of MA packed meat have been studied and each found to be crucial, understanding of the interactions between the parameters is needed. This review was undertaken to present the most comprehensive and current overview of the widely available, scattered information about the various integrated critical factors responsible for the quality and shelf life of MA packed meat with an interest to stimulate further research to optimize different quality parameters.

[Materials and articles intended to come into contact with food: evaluation of the rapid alert system for food and feed (RASFF) 2008-2010]. / Materiali destinati a venire a contatto con gli alimenti: analisi del sistema di allerta RASFF nel triennio 2008-2010.

For some time, packaging materials and articles intended to come into contact with food are included in the system of controls, early warnings and risk communication provided by the European Commission (EU) regulation 178/2002. Data analysis of the EU rapid alert system for food allows one to define a specific risk profile and to establish an effective plan for official control of materials intended to come into contact with food. In the 2008-2010 period the rapid alert system has ratified alert notifications, mostly related to plastic materials of Chinese origin.

A study of nutrition and health claims--a snapshot of what's on the Irish market.

OBJECTIVE: To examine the use of nutrition and health claims on packaged foods commonly eaten in Ireland. DESIGN: An assessment of the labels of packaged food products that are commonly eaten in Ireland to determine the level of use of nutrition and health claims. Where present, the exact text of the claims as observed was recorded for seventeen different food categories and the claims categorised in accordance with EU Regulation 1924/2006 on nutrition and health claims made on foods. SETTING: Four retailers in Dublin, Ireland. RESULTS: Of the foods surveyed, 47.3 % carried a nutrition claim and 17.8 % carried a health claim. Frozen fruit & vegetables and Breakfast cereals were the food categories with the highest proportion of nutrition claims. The most widespread nutrition claim was that referring to 'fat' and, within this group, the most commonly used text was 'low fat'. The largest category of health claims observed in the present survey was general health claims. Claims referring to the digestive system were the most common followed by claims that a product will 'lower/reduce/regulate your cholesterol'. Yoghurt & yoghurt drinks was the food category with the highest proportion of health claims, of which improving or boosting the digestive system was the most common. CONCLUSIONS: The use of nutrition and health claims on the Irish market is widespread. EU Regulation 1924/2006 requires monitoring of the market for these types of claims. The current study could provide baseline data for the food industry and regulators to monitor the development of this market in the future.

Repeated use food contact materials: A categorisation approach in support of risk assessment.

The current migration assessment requirements regarding safety of plastic food contact materials in Europe (e.g. kitchen utensils, kitchen appliances, packaging, etc.) widely rely on migration testing. According to Annexe V of Regulation (EU) No 10/2011 migration testing requirements consider the specificities of repeated use applications only to a limited extent. Repeated use food contact materials should be tested for three consecutive times at the worst-case contact time and temperature. If diffusion controlled, the migration decreases with increasing number of repeated uses. Compared to single use applications, repeated use food contact materials typically exhibit much shorter contact times, much lower ratios of surface in contact with a given amount of food, and in some cases higher temperatures. Compared to real use, in many cases highly overestimated migration testing result are observed. Overestimation by testing at the beginning of use may be coupled with underestimation at later times. National legislation of the Netherlands on food contact materials has established a classification for repeated use rubber materials based on the R-value indicating whether migration testing is required or not. The R-value considers in more detail specificities of repeated use applications. This publication investigates to which extent it is possible to apply the approach to plastics food contact materials in Europe. It is practically impossible to perform migration tests for various materials by putting them many times in contact with food over a long period of time, typically several years, at several temperatures and areas to food amount ratios migration. Modelling has therefore been used to predict migration from various food contact materials under different repeated use scenarios. Realistic diffusion properties of materials and migrant partitioning behaviour have been assumed to minimise the risk of underestimation.

Stages of change in the purchase of packaged foods after phase 1 of the implementation of the new food policy in Chile 2017.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to determine the stage of change in which Chilean adults find themselves, with respect to their intention of purchasing packaged, popular foods with a warning label for critical nutrients. METHODS: This was a cross-sectional study conducted with a nationally representative sample. Each participant was asked age, weight, and height. The stage of the change was identified according to the timing of intention to purchase for each of the foods. RESULTS: The sample included 2331 individuals, of whom 60.4% were women. More than 50% of the population was in the precontemplation stage, reaching 66.6% for breakfast cereals. The lowest value was in sweetened beverages with 43.4%. When comparing by sex, a higher proportion of men than women were in the precontemplation stage for sugar-sweetened beverages and cured meats/sausage (P < 0.05). When comparing by nutritional status, the higher the weight status, the higher the prevalence of participants in the three initial stages: precontemplation, contemplation, and preparation (P < 0.01). CONCLUSION: We found that the majority of the respondents were in the precontemplation stage for most foods, except for sugar-sweetened beverages. In the case of sugar-sweetened beverages, most respondents were in the preparation, action, and maintenance stages.