K A S H R U T . C O M_©

December 23, 2024 from IngredientsNetwork.com:

"Chile’s warning labelling and marketing rules for unhealthy foods led to “significant decreases” in purchases of food and drinks with high levels of sugar, salt and fat, according to a study published in the journal PLOS Medicine.

"The Chilean Law of Food Labelling and Advertising, implemented in three phases in 2016, 2018 and 2019, mandated front-of-pack warning labels on food and beverages, restricted food marketing to children, and banned the sales of products ‘high-in’ nutrients of concern – like sugar and saturated fats – in schools.

"Each phase brought increasingly strict nutrition thresholds, with a daytime marketing ban for unhealthy food ads on television, regardless of audience, coming into effect in phase 2 as well.

"In the study, the academics from Chile and the US compared data on purchases from 2,844 households from 1 July 2013 to 25 June 2019 to a ‘counterfactual scenario’ (hypothetical food purchases if the policies were not in place).

"After phase 2 they found purchases of foods high in nutrients of concern decreased: 36.8% in sugar; 23% in energy; 21.9% in sodium; and 15.7% in saturated fat. “The declines in ‘high in’ products purchased were partially offset by increased purchases from ‘not high-in’ products,” they wrote. “Still, the overall changes resulted in net declines in nutrients of concern purchase ranging from 8.3% to 20.2%.”

"The effects were “more pronounced” in phase 2. Also of note was the fact that in phase 1 the reductions seemed to be driven by a large immediate drop in the concerning nutrients – perhaps due to reformulation – whereas in the second phase there were “larger changes over time, possibly representing behavioural shifts”.

"Most would assume the responsibility for complying with front-of-pack labelling rules would be on manufacturers. But the study shows that supermarket supply chain power seems to work rather effectively."