New labeling: which products must indicate that they are “imitations” on their packaging

Surely sometimes, in the supermarket, you bought Manchego cheese, Roquefort, Parma ham, virgin olive oil or Champagne. Products that you probably paid a higher price for.

However, when checking the labeling of these foods, it turned out that neither the Manchego cheese had been made in Castilla la Mancha (Spain), nor the French RoquefortThe prosciutto di Parma doesn’t come from Italy either. The oil was also not made in Mediterranean countries and Champagne was produced far from the French countryside.

Are examples of non-original items which emulate elaborations protected by their denomination of origin. Many of these imitations do not clearly indicate their origin on the packaging, and to be marketed they use the word “type” – “type parmesan”, “type gouda”, “type Porto”, etc. -. But this practice will soon end.

This Thursday April 1, the second stage of the first phase of Mexican official standard 051 (NOM-051), on the new labeling of products. And one of the main changes introduced by the provision is that it requires companies that sell non-original food or alcoholic beverages to include in their packaging the caption “imitation”.

As reported by Alfonso Guati Rojo Sánchez, Director General of Standards at the Ministry of the Economy (SE), this entry must appear in large letters. In addition, the word “type” may no longer appear on the packaging.

“In this second step, we are already referring specifically to commercial information. What will you find from April 1? […] You will be able to know which products are imitations, so if you decide to buy it perfectly, you have the information that it is not a genuine product, but as indicated in large letters, they are imitations, ”the manager explained.

Another of the modifications that will accompany the second stage is the obligation to “Remove the use of characters, cartoons, among others, in products with stamps”, in order to avoid its consumption in children. Brands of cereals, cookies or chocolate bars These are some of the edibles that will be affected the most as they are the ones who commonly use cartoons in their packaging. This led to iconic figures such as Chester Cheetos, Osito Bimbo or Tigre Toño.

In addition, companies will be obliged to indicate the clearest names and with a size visible to the consumer. And the ingredient list will indicate the added sugars, the allergen declaration and a nutrition declaration based on 100 grams or 100 mm on all products.

The intention of this second step is for food and beverage companies to include new information on their labeling in order to “provide greater clarity and accuracy to Mexican consumers”. All businesses must comply with the new provisions as of April 1. However, the Ministry of the Economy (SE) understands that there are lots of items that were manufactured before that date and are still on the market, so it will allow them to stay in store until May 31.

“Mexican authorities have granted a delay until May 31, 2021 so that point-of-sale products that meet all of the trade and health information on their labels can coexist with those that only comply with the NOM-051 front-end labeling system ″.

What was the first step?

The first step came into effect on October 1. Then, the Ministry of the Economy forced national and international brands to identify by means of hexagonal swabs which products have an excess of sugars, calories, saturated or trans fats, as well as those that have high amounts of sodium. He also ordered alerting, through two precautionary captions, which items contain caffeine or sweeteners.

Stamps:

– Excess saturated fat.

– Excess sodium.

– Excess of sugars.

– Excess trans fat.

– Excess of calories.

Warning captions:

– “Contains sweeteners, not recommended for children.”

– “Contains caffeine, to be avoided in children.”

These registrations will be completed from April 1 by the legend “IMITATION”, if applicable; removing caricatures, characters or athletes from products with stamps; the indication of the name in a clear, wide and visible manner; and the inclusion in the packaging of added sugars, an allergen declaration and a nutrition declaration based on 100 grams or 100 mm in all products.

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