The current healthy eating law states that all processed foods must have octagons when they meet or exceed the levels of sugar, sodium and saturated fat; In turn, various studies have found that baby formulas and dairy supplements have high amounts of sugar. Despite this, the Congress of the Republic, inadvertently, approved in plenary session that these products do not carry such warnings.
In the autograph, article 2 on the preparation and marketing of foods for special diets specifies that “the rules that regulate the labeling and advertising of industrial or natural foods that are not strictly foods for special diets are not applicable.”
The lawyer specializing in consumer law, Jaime Delgado, has denounced that the pharmaceutical lobby is behind this measure, since in August 2021 the Supreme Court had declared the nullity of the regulation that favored milk formulas, which excluded them from the reach of the octagons, due to a popular action presented by the Public Ministry.
“The Ministry of Health, complying with that court ruling, had already pre-published this rule that should soon come into effect. In the midst of all this, Congress surprises us with a law, product of the tremendous lobby of the pharmaceutical industry, once again excluding the formulas from the placement of the octagons, depriving us of the right to information, to enjoy good health and not give our babies pure sugar”Delgado said.
The proposal that bears the name “Law that regulates the preparation and marketing of foods for special diets for vulnerable populations” was unanimously approved in plenary session on April 27 of this year and was sent to the Executive for its promulgation on May 9. . Therefore, next Tuesday the 30th is the deadline for it to be officially observed or published.
Data
- It should be noted that this initiative had already been approved in January 2023, but was observed by the Executive the following month.
- Elva Julón and Rosio Torres, from the Alianza para el Progreso bench, are the authors of the two bills that shaped this proposal.
Source: Larepublica
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