Background
Noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) remain leading causes of mortality, morbidity and disability in the Caribbean. Three conditions, namely high blood pressure, high fasting blood sugar levels and overweight and obesity, are the main drivers of this disease burden in the region. This crisis is being further aggravated by the COVID-19 pandemic, as persons living with NCDs (PLWNCDs) face a greater risk of becoming severely ill or dying from COVID-19.
High blood pressure, high fasting blood sugar levels and overweight and obesity are closely linked to unhealthy diets, and an excessive intake of sugars, total fats, saturated fats, trans fats and sodium. In turn, the excessive intake of these “critical nutrients” of public health concern, is largely driven by the widespread availability, affordability and promotion of processed and ultra-processed food products with unhealthy nutritional profiles.
Front-of-Package Warning Labeling
Against this backdrop, an essential part of the solution requires the use of laws and regulations to reduce the demand for and offer of processed and ultra-processed products that contain excessive amounts of critical nutrients. Front-of-package warning labeling represents one of the key policy tools of a comprehensive strategy to regulate obesogenic environments. Scientific evidence shows that octagon-shaped front-of-package nutritional warnings indicating if a product is “HIGH IN” on or more critical nutrients, is the best performing system to allow consumers to correctly, quickly, and easily identify products with unhealthy nutritional profiles.
Moreover, this approach has been supported as a rights-compliant response in a recent Statement by the UN Rapporteur on the Right to Health, which highlighted States’ obligations to adopt regulatory measures aimed at tackling NCDs. As part of this approach, The PAHO nutrient profile model allows the identification of products that should contain warnings on the front of the containers for their excessive content of critical nutrients that can affect health.
FOPWL is a simple, practical and effective tool to inform the public about products that can harm health and help guide purchasing decisions
Situation in the Caribbean
In the Caribbean, the CARICOM Regional Organisation for Standards and Quality (CROSQ) is leading, since 2018, the revision of the (2010) CARICOM Regional Standard for Specification for labelling of pre-packaged foods (CRS 5:2010) to incorporate front-of-package labeling specifications.
This process is supported by strong regional mandates and has involved extensive consultations through National Mirror Committees with all relevant stakeholders, including industry and commerce. The current CARICOM draft standard meets the highest level of scientific excellence, including the octagon-shaped warning system and a nutrient profile model based on WHO recommendations.
Frequently Asked Questions
Featured Publications
Front-of-package Labeling as a Policy Tool for the Prevention of NCDs in the Americas
This technical brief summarizes the evidence on the performance of FOPL systems in meeting this purpose and provides a list of frequently asked questions about the nutrition warning system.
Pan American Health Organization Nutrient Profile Model
This Plan of Action mandates that PAHO provide evidence-based information for the development of fiscal and other types of policies and regulations to prevent the consumption of unhealthy foods, including front-of-package (FOP) labeling and Regional nutrition guidelines for school food environments.
Superior Efficacy of Front-of-Package Warning Labels in Jamaica
This fact-sheet presents the results of the first study to take place in the Caribbean to examine the best performing front-of-package labeling (FOPL).
Videos
Octagon High in Warning Labels the Best Way to Go for the Caribbean - Not the Magnifying Glass
Dr. David Hammond, Professor CIHR, PHAC Chair in the Applied Public Health School of Public Health & Health Systems, University of Waterloo, Canada presents the evidence that supports octagon high in front of package warning labels as the most effective food label to support consumers purchase of foods low in sugars, fats and salts - the nutrients associate with obesity and NCDs when consumed in excess.
The presentation is part of the webinar "Human Rights Approach to Front-of-Package-Labeling in the Caribbean", on November, 9th, 2020.
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