One more stripe to the tiger. According to Advertising Warnings Manual (MAP), the nutritional octagons should be printed on the labels of products sold in our marketplace.
However, the Government of Dina Boluarte —after a long extension due to the pandemic— decided to lift this measure, in contravention of the guidelines of the Law for the Promotion of Healthy Eating for Children and Adolescents (Law No. 30021).
Already last June 30 they modified some points of the MAP so that imported products use octagons “adhesive or indelibly printed on the front face of the label.” The same for local mypes.
The reasons? From the Ministry of Foreign Trade and Tourism (Mincetur), they informed La República that the changes respond to the concerns presented to Peru by different partners within the framework of the Committee on Technical Barriers to Trade of the World Trade Organization (WTO).
For example, the Government of Brazil recently welcomed the “successful” negotiations with Mincetur, where they were given the green light for the entry and sale of their food and beverages for children only with octagons on stickers, since Peruvian regulations “could have affected” with this “foreign trade barrier” its export sector, the force them to raise their costs to place the printed nutritional warnings.
Absence of sovereignty
jamie delgadolawyer and founder of the Peruvian Association of Consumers and Users (Aspec), questioned the government’s turn, since the octagons printed on the wrappers wanted the information to reach consumers directly, considering that the stickers are easy to remove.
“It is a submission, a renunciation of our sovereignty. Stickers as we know are fragile or you will put them anywhere or they will come off. We cannot use this measure permanently, ”she warns.
Likewise, he regretted that giving in to business pressures is universalized, considering that Indecopi and Congress endorse that the octagons go only as stickers on their packaging.
History of consent
The Specialized Chamber for the Defense of Competition (SDC) of Indecopi declared that the prohibition of the use of stickers for warnings it is an unreasonable non-tariff trade barrier.
In addition, the Permanent Commission of Congress approved that only “stickers that are difficult to remove” be applied because “importers cannot be attacked.”
Health specialists warn strong lobby after the decision.
Source: Larepublica
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