Front labeling: The labeled products will start showing up this month but several companies have asked for an extension

From Saturday 20 August, the first products covered by the new Law on Frontal Labeling under Law 27.642 will begin to appear on the shelves. It will be for foods that need warnings about the content of excess sugar, total fat, calories and sodium. However, the application of this law – which was enacted in November last year – it will be gradual as many companies have made use of an extension – required by law – for 180 days. Fundamentally, companies argue that labeling products with black octagons requires “effort and time” that is difficult to consume in a context of uncertainty and lack of predictability.

From COPAL, the chamber that brings together the main food companies, they explained that the industry “is working hard to adapt and comply with the provisions of the Healthy Food Law”. But he recalled that “in article 20 of the law, the national executive power has established the possibility of arranging, if the obliged subjects have justified with pertinent reasons, an extension of 180 days”.

From the numerous presentations, at the end of July, the Ministry of Health reported that it had approved 35% of the 2,658 requests for extensions for the implementation of the labels.

According to COPAL, “with the validity of the extension manager – instrument enabled by the law enforcement authority – several presentations have been made by the sector requiring a longer adaptation period, on the grounds that they continued to persist inconsistencies and vagueness that made it impossible to comply with the provisions of the law “the entity explained.

“In this aspect, the scenario of uncertainty and predictability in which the sector operates should not be ignored” And, by way of example, the body has highlighted that in some implementation processes “companies have encountered inconveniences such as the inability to access supplies for the creation of labels, due to the difficulties in making payments abroad “.

There are other situations as well. “Basically for us the delay is due to the stock of packaging we already had and that not using it would have an impact on the business”, they commented in one of the companies that is working on the implementation but has requested the extension and has until February. 2023 to comply with the norm in stores.

“We need logical times and there was no room for exchange necessary to get to implement it: the application manual was published only on July 15 ”, said another source of a multinational that has a large share of its portfolio covered by the regulation. “In any case, we are working to adapt as quickly as possible and take care of the unexpected events of our suppliers“, summary.

The new labeling includes a two-step adaptation program: small or medium-sized factories have more time to have their products ready with the new labels, until February 20, 2023. And larger companies should start labeling this way from August 20, if they don’t have the extension.

In this spectrum there are companies that have already started the race and on social media consumers have begun to exchange photos of products already labeled as 9 de Oro Biscuits or bottles of Coca Cola.

Some products, on the other hand, are directly exempted from having the black label: this is the case of common sugar, vegetable oils, dried fruit and common cooking salt. Also milk and butter, among others, are excluded.