Imported products would have octagons on stickers

The Permanent Commission of Congress approved —in the first vote— bill 3933 to exempt imported food and non-alcoholic beverages and produced by local mypes from the use of indelible octagons on their wrappers.

That is, they would only use “difficult-to-remove stickers”.

Elías Varas, president of the Consumer Defense Commission (Bicentennial Peru), assured that it is unreasonable for the Executive branch to prohibit the use of adhesives on imported products, since Indecopi’s Specialized Chamber for the Defense of Competition (SDC) considers it a non-tariff trade barrier.

“We cannot attack importers, but if we place the law of octagons, they are difficult to remove so that any distributor cannot remove them. It is important to guarantee the health of children and adolescents. They have stickers, but they are difficult to remove,” said.

And, in defense of micro-enterprises, he assured that by allowing them to modify the Healthy Eating Law so that they can only use stickers on their packaging, they are given the green light to market with less expensive octagons.

They accommodate interests

Jaime Delgado, former president of the Peruvian Association of Consumers and Users (Aspec), described the ruling as an attack on the right to information of consumers. He added that these stickers can make it difficult for consumers to display relevant information, such as net content, etc.

According to the text, the rest of foods and non-alcoholic beverages with trans fats and a high content of sugar, sodium and saturated fats must state clearly, legibly, and understandably the indelible octagons, which cannot be covered in whole or in part by any element. This initiative will be submitted to a second vote after seven calendar days.