Centro de Investigación en Nutrición y Salud, Instituto Nacional de Salud Pública, Universidad No. 655, Colonia Santa María Ahuacatitlán, Cerrada Los Pinos y Caminera. C.P, Cuernavaca, Morelos, 62100, Mexico.
Department of Epidemiology and Statistics, School of Population health, The University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand.
Int J Behav Nutr Phys Act. 2021 Jun 10;18(1):76. doi: 10.1186/s12966-021-01148-1.
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.
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.
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).
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.
在包装正面使用健康和营养声称可能会影响消费者的食品选择；因此，许多国家都制定了相关规定，以避免误导信息。本研究描述了在墨西哥零售商店的食品包装正面使用健康和营养声称的流行情况，并估计了墨西哥官方标准 051（新规定，包括在不太健康的食品上实施警告标签和其他包装元素，如健康和营养声称的规范）对这些声称的流行程度的潜在影响。
这是一项横断面研究，其中收集了墨西哥城主要零售商店中所有食品和饮料的健康和营养声称、营养信息面板以及成分清单。根据 NOVA 食品系统分类，将产品按加工水平进行分组。使用国际上协调一致的 INFORMAS 分类法对声称进行分类。根据新的墨西哥包装正面标签法规的标准，根据食品类型和关注的能量和营养素阈值，估计了健康和营养声称减少的效果。
在 17264 种产品中，有 33.8%显示了营养声称，3.4%显示了健康声称。总的来说，80.8%的墨西哥市场上的所有产品都被归类为“不太健康”；48.2%的产品含有过多的卡路里，44.6%的产品含有过多的钠，40.7%的产品含有过多的游离糖。新规定将阻止 39.4%的有声称的产品显示健康和营养声称（P<0.001）；超加工食品的降幅最大（51.1%，P<0.001）。导致声称减少最多的规定阈值是卡路里（OR 0.62，P<0.001）和非糖甜味剂（OR 0.54，P<0.001）。
新的墨西哥包装正面标签法规将阻止大多数加工和超加工食品显示健康和营养声称，并可能改善消费者对包装的信息。
