According to the first-ever draft guidelines from the World Health Organization (WHO), packaged food and beverages should have easily readable nutritional information on the front of the items to help customers make healthier choices.
However, the guidelines did not call for more stringent warning labels.
Reason For Issuing WHO Guidelines
More than a billion people worldwide suffer from obesity, and according to WHO data, the condition causes an estimated eight million premature deaths annually from related conditions like diabetes and heart disease.
One major contributing factor to this crisis is the increased consumption of processed foods high in fat, sugar, and salt.
Governments, however, have had difficulty enacting laws to stop the epidemic.
Although there is evidence that labels can influence consumer behavior, the UN body told Reuters that only 43 WHO member states now have any form of front-of-package labeling, either required or voluntary.
Date Of Publishing
The proposed rules have not been previously reported, and the WHO started working on them in 2019.
Dr. Katrin Engelhardt, a scientist in the WHO’s Nutrition and Food Safety division, told Reuters via email that their goal is “to support consumers in making healthier food-related decisions.”
The guidelines’ final version will be made public in early 2025 after a public consultation ended on October 11.
While the WHO recommendation goes a step further than the industry’s preference, it “is fairly weak,” Taillie said.
“The most important thing for most countries globally is going to be to limit excess intake of added sugars, sodium, saturated fat and ultra-processed foods more generally – which is what warning labels do best.”
The Guideline
According to WHO guidelines, countries should use “interpretive” labels that provide nutritional data along with an explanation of the product’s healthfulness.
For instance, the French-developed NutriScore system, which is used in several European nations, rates foods from A (green), which contains vital nutrients, to E (red), which contains significant amounts of added salts, sugars, fats, or calories.
A stricter method is used in Chile and a number of other Latin American nations, where food labels that are “high in sugar,” salt, or fat are shown on the front of the container in the form of a black octagon that resembles a stop sign.
According to the WHO, there is insufficient data to identify the most effective labeling scheme.
The Coca-Cola Company and Mondelez International Inc. are among the members of the International Food and Beverage Alliance, which claims that its companies already meet minimal global requirements.
In accordance with the worldwide Codex Alimentarius standard, they feature a list of nutrients on the back of packages and, if possible, a front of pack detail on at least the energy content.
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