In January, the Mexican government approved a measure to require special labeling for domestic and imported prepackaged, processed foods and non-alcoholic beverages. The new regulation will require a front-of-pack (FOP) labeling warning system with icons that highlight excessive content of calories, sugars, saturated fats, trans fats or sodium in products, and identifies caffeine- and sweetener-containing products as not recommended for children. It also imposes severe restrictions on marketing and use of some intellectual property. IDFA has been and will continue to work with the U.S. and other governments as well as with international dairy industry partners, through Codex, to ensure appropriate international guidance for FOP labeling schemes is developed.

On January 24, 2020, just days before the U.S. ratified the brand new U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), the Mexican government approved a measure to require special labeling for domestic and imported prepackaged, processed foods and non-alcoholic beverages (“Project of Modification to the Official Mexican Standard NOM-051-SCFI / SSA1-2010”). The new regulation will require a front-of-pack (FOP) labeling warning system with icons that highlight excessive content of calories, sugars, saturated fats, trans fats or sodium in products, and identifies caffeine- and sweetener-containing products as not recommended for children. It also imposes severe restrictions on marketing and use of some intellectual property.

Clearly, this proposal raises serious concerns across the international food and beverage industries and with trading partners, and this is yet another example of the importance of consensus- and science-based, international standard-setting for food and agricultural products, such as that undertaken by the United Nations’ Codex Alimentarius Commission (“Codex”).

To date, the Mexican government has not demonstrated that this FOP system will result in the intended health outcomes for Mexican consumers. In comments submitted on December 3, 2019, to the Mexican government, IDFA highlighted various reasons that the regulation could compromise both the promotion and consumption of nutritious dairy foods and beverages in Mexico resulting in negative health consequences for large portions of the population.

Although the Mexican government has decided to advance this regulation forward toward finalization, an implementation date has yet to be announced. IDFA is working with others in the U.S. food and beverage industry to advocate for a strong U.S. government response due to the multiple ways this regulation conflicts with international standards and trade agreements, including the newly ratified USMCA, which seek to ensure that technical regulations do not create unnecessary trade barriers and require that they be no more restrictive than necessary to achieve the objective.  

To this end, on February 24, IDFA co-signed a letter from the Food and Beverage Issue Alliance to the U.S. Trade Representative, Robert Lighthizer, stressing that Mexico’s labeling proposal is not scientifically based and violates the principle that food and beverages should be considered in relation to their holistic role to overall health and a balanced daily diet. The proposed warning labels could be misleading and hinder consumers from making informed decisions when comparing products, since most prepackaged products would be branded with warning labels and unpackaged foods would not. The letter also asked Ambassador Lighthizer to work to ensure Mexico’s proposal is revised to align with Codex labeling standards and not preempt the ongoing work by Codex to establish an internationally recognized set of guidelines on the development of FOP labeling schemes. Further, the letter urges a reasonable timeline for industry implementation of any new requirements—at least 3-4 years—since labeling changes can consume a considerable amount of time and resources by the industry, as we know from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s recent updates of the Nutrition Facts Panel. 

IDFA has been and will continue to work with the U.S. and other governments as well as with international dairy industry partners, through Codex, to ensure appropriate international guidance for FOP labeling schemes is developed. This is of critical importance to help deter individual countries from creating potential trade distorting schemes that are not evidence-based and conflict with USMCA and World Trade Organization agreements. We will keep IDFA members informed of any new developments, but urge members to contact us with any additional concerns or questions.For more information, please contact John Allan, vice president of regulatory affairs and international standards.