Office of the Ombudsman to the PCM: normative reforms and reorganization of Indecopi are urgently needed

The Ombudsman’s Office rejected the decision of the Specialized Chamber for the Defense of Competition of the Indecopi Tribunal which, in second instance, revoked a sanction applied to Panificadora Bimbo del Perú SA, under the argument that it is not obliged to use octagons when its products do not exceed the 0.5 grams of trans fats per serving, and demanded a prompt intervention of the Presidency of the Council of Ministers (PCM) and the Congress of the Republic for the recomposition of the organism.

Through a statement, the Ombudsman’s Office demanded that the Office of Institutional Control of Indecopi and the PCM “intervene with priority and carry out a thorough investigation against the complaints that indicate the existence of possible conflicts of interest” in those who make up that Chamber .

“We reject the decision and interpretation adopted by the aforementioned decision-making body, since it ignores the health regulations and constitutes a regrettable precedent that violates the right of consumers to have information on the content of trans fats in products, this aspect being one of the pillars of the policy to achieve a healthy diet and protect the health of the population, especially girls, boys and adolescents, in the face of the increase in chronic diseases, such as diabetes or obesity, ”the institution remarked.

In this sense, the Ombudsman’s Office explained that said Indecopi body has not considered that the regulatory framework expressly requires that the advertising of foods and non-alcoholic beverages with trans fats must adequately consign the advertising warnings (octagons), not requiring any parameters. .

“We urge the Ministry of Health to promptly file the corresponding legal actions against the resolution issued by the Specialized Chamber for the Defense of Competition of the Indecopi Court,” the statement said.

In addition, since July, bans on partially hydrogenated oils and fats have been in force.

“We recommend to the Congress of the Republic, the Presidency of the Council of Ministers, through its Secretariat of Public Integrity and other dependencies, the Office of the Comptroller General of the Republic and Indecopi, to carry out a re-evaluation of the composition and operation of the decision-making bodies of Indecopi , and regulate requirements and incompatibilities to assume or remain in these positions, in order to preserve independence in the resolution of cases that are known in these instances, “the statement concluded.

Indecopi acknowledges the fight against conflicts of interest

In response to this statement, the owner of Indecopi, Julian Palacin, recognized the possible existence of “excessive private business interests”, which would have penetrated the administrative structures of the institution and reached possible irregularities due to conflict in the resolution of causes.

“I want to thank the Ombudsman’s Office for the statement that fully shares the thinking of this presidency, which since it took office a little more than a month ago, has been requiring that the interests of citizens be safeguarded against possible incompatibilities in the exercise of the public function and private interests ”, sent Palacín Gutiérrez.

It should be noted that the executive president of Indecopi expressed his disagreement with the decision of interpretation of the Specialized Defense Chamber of the Court on the Bimbo case, because the guidelines of the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) integrate the internal law of that State and it is not an international instrument that obliges Peru to resolve in this way.

“It cannot be that a public servant dispatches in the morning in Indecopi and in the afternoon as an official of the National Society of Industries, where Silvia Hooker has worked for more than seven years, resolving within Indecopi the litigious causes of the associates of this business union ”, he sentenced.