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PROMOTION OF HEALTH ALIMENTATION

Law 27642

Provisions.


PROMOTION OF HEALTH ALIMENTATION

CHAPTER I

GENERAL PROVISIONS

Article 1- Object. This Act is intended to:

(a) Ensuring the right to health and adequate food through the promotion of healthy food, providing simple and understandable nutritional information of packaged foods and alcoholic beverages, to promote assertive and active decision-making, and safeguarding the rights of consumers and consumers;

(b) Advert consumers and consumers about excesses of components such as sugars, sodium, saturated fats, total fats and calories, from clear, timely and truthful information in response to articles 4° and 5° of Law 24.240, of Consumer Defense;

(c) Promote prevention of malnutrition in the population and reduction of chronic non-communicable diseases.

Article 2- Definitions. For the purposes of this Act, it is understood that:

(a) Healthy food: that based on equilibrium and variety criteria and according to the cultural patterns of the population, provides a sufficient amount of essential and limited nutrients in those nutrients whose excess intake is a risk factor for chronic non-communicable diseases;

(b) Right to adequate food: that right exercised when everyone, whether alone or in common with others, has physical and economic access, at all times, to adequate food quantitatively, qualitatively and culturally and to the means to obtain it;

(c) Nutrients: any chemical normally consumed as a component of a food that: (1) provides energy; and/or (2) is necessary, or contributes to the growth, development and maintenance of health and life; and/or (3) whose lack will cause characteristic chemical or physiological changes;

(d) Critical nutrients: sugars, sodium, saturated fats and total fats;

(e) Nutritional labelling: it is all a description intended to inform the consumer about the nutritional properties, of an analcoholic food or drink, attached to the container. It includes the declaration of energy and nutrient value and the declaration of nutritional properties;

(f) Advertising and promotion: any form of communication, recommendation or commercial action for the purpose, effect or possible effect of making known, directly or indirectly promoting a product or its use;

(g) Sponsorship: any form of contribution to any act, activity or person for the purpose, effect or possible effect of directly or indirectly promoting a product, its use, a trademark or a company;

(h) Main face: it is the part of the labelling where the name of sale and the brand or logo, if any, is indicated in its most relevant forms;

(i) Warning seal: seal that is presented graphically on the main face or in front of the packaging of the products, which consists of the presence of one or more warning type images indicating that the product has excessive levels of critical nutrients and/or energy value in relation to certain indicators. Legends are also understood by the content of sweeteners or caffeine;

(j) Packaging food: it is all food contained in a container, whatever its origin, packed in the absence of the customer, ready to offer it to the consumer;

(k) Claim or Supplementary Nutrition Information (INC): any representation that affirms, suggests or implies that a food or drink has particular nutritional properties, especially, but not only, in relation to its energy value and content of proteins, fats, carbohydrates and food fiber, as well as its content of critical nutrients, vitamins and minerals.

Article 3. Subjects required. All persons, humans or legal entities, who manufacture, produce, produce, produce, fraction, packaging, entrust or manufacture, distribute, commercialize, import, who have placed their mark or integrate the chain of commercialization of food and alcoholic beverages of human consumption throughout the territory of the Argentine Republic, are subject to the obligations set out in this Act.

CHAPTER II

AND SODIO

Article 4°- Seal on the Main Face. The foods and beverages packaged in the absence of the customer and marketed in the territory of the Argentine Republic, in whose final composition the contents of critical nutrients and their energy value exceeds the values established in accordance with this law, must include in the main face an indelible warning stamp for each critical nutrient in excess, as appropriate: “EXCESS IN AZÚCARES”; “EXCESO IN SODIO”

In case of containing sweeteners, the container must contain a precautionary legend immediately below the warning stamps with the legend: “CONTIENE EDULCORANTES, NOT RECOMMENDABLE IN CHILD/AS”.

In case of caffeine, the container must contain a precautionary legend immediately below the warning stamps with the legend: “CONTIENE CAFEÍNA. EVIATE IN CHILDREN/AS.”

The set in this chapter extends to boxes, drawers, and any other type of packaging containing the products in question.

Article 5°- Characteristics of the warning seal. The warning system should have the following provisions:

(a) The seal shall adopt the form of black octagons with edge and letters of white in capital letters;

(b) The size of each seal will never be less than five percent (5%) of the surface of the main face of the container;

(c) It may not be covered in a partial or total manner by any other element.

In case the area of the main face of the container is equal to or less than ten (10) square centimeters, and contains more than one (1) seal, the application authority will determine the proper form of seal placement.

The provisions set out in this article apply, in a complementary manner, with the appropriate adjustments as a result of the procedures for the development, review and repeal of MERCOSUR standards.

Article 6- Maximum values. The maximum values of sugars, saturated fats, total fats and sodium established must meet the limits of the Nutrition Profile of the Pan American Health Organization.

In terms of energy value, the application authority must set specific parameters for its determination.

In the case of liquid or powder concentrates to prepare drinks, the standardization of the product reconstituted according to the statement made by the manufacturer in the registration of the product made in front of the competent authority and contained in the container.

The application authority must establish a phase schedule in relation to the established limits for determining the excess of critical nutrients and energy values, not being able to exceed the same two (2) years from the obligation to comply with this law. The gradual compliance schedule cannot be extended.

Article 7o- Exception. It is exempt from seal placement in the main face to common sugar, vegetable oils, nuts and common table salt.

Article 8 - Mandatory declaration of sugars. It is mandatory to declare the quantitative content of sugars, understood as simple carbohydrates (disaccharides and monosaccharides), in the nutritional labelling of foods packed for human consumption in the absence of the customer.

The provisions set out in this article apply, in a complementary manner, with the appropriate adjustments as a result of the procedures for the development, review and repeal of MERCOSUR standards.

Article 9o- Prohibitions in packaging. Foods and packaged analcoholic beverages containing a warning stamp cannot be incorporated into their packaging:

(a) Supplementary nutritional information;

(b) The inclusion of logos or phrases with sponsorship or endorsements of scientific societies or civil associations;

(c) Children ' s characters, animations, cartoons, celebrities, sportsmen or pets, interactive elements, gift delivery or promise, awards, gifts, accessories, adhesive visual-spatial games, digital downloads, or any other element, as well as participation or promise of participation in contests, games, sporting events, musicals, theatrical or cultural events, together with less purchase of products with less

CHAPTER III

PUBLICITY, PROMOTION AND PATROCINI

Article 10.- Prohibitions. Any form of publicity, promotion and sponsorship of packaged alcoholic foods and beverages, containing at least one (1) seal of warning, targeting children and adolescents, is prohibited.

In other cases of advertising, promotion and/or sponsorship by any means, of foods and/or alcohols containing at least one (1) seal of warning:

(a) It is prohibited to highlight complementary nutritional declarations that highlight positive and/or nutritious qualities of the products concerned, in order not to promote confusion regarding nutritional contributions;

(b) The warning seals corresponding to the product in question should be made visible and/or fully stated whenever the packaging is exposed;

c) They are prohibited from including children ' s characters, animations, cartoons, celebrities, sportsmen or pets, interactive elements, the delivery or promise of gift delivery, awards, gifts, accessories, adhesive visual-spatial games, digital downloads, or any other element, as well as the participation or promise of participation in contests, games, sporting events, musicals, theatrical or cultural events, which contain seals (1)

(d) Promotion or surrender is prohibited free of charge.

CHAPTER IV

PROMOTION OF HEALTH ALIMENTATION IN EDUCATIONAL ESTABLISHMENTS

Article 11. Healthy feeding habits. The Federal Education Council should promote the inclusion of educational activities and policies that establish the minimum content of nutritional food education in the country ' s initial, primary and secondary educational establishments, in order to contribute to the development of healthy eating habits and to warn about the harmful effects of inadequate food.

Article 12.- School environments. Foods and alcohols containing at least one (1) seal of warning or precautionary legends cannot be offered, marketed, advertised, promoted or sponsored in educational establishments that make up the initial, primary and secondary level of the National Education System.

CHAPTER V

AUTHORITY OF IMPLEMENTATION

Article 13.- Determination. The executive branch must determine the authority for the implementation of this law.

The provinces and the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires are the local enforcement authorities, exercising control and surveillance of this law and its regulatory regulations.

Article 14.- Schools. They are the powers of the implementing authority:

(a) To disseminate, through the different graphical media, through the public and the Internet, information about: the importance of intake of healthy food for the health of the population; the foods whose intake is recommended by the Food Guides for the Argentine Population; the foods whose intake is usually considered harmful to the human organism by the World Health Organization; the harmful effects that the intake of health is relevant;

(b) Implement actions in coordination with areas relevant to the promotion of unprocessed, natural and healthy food consumption, produced by our regional economies and family farming;

(c) To ensure compliance with this Act and its regulations;

(d) Any other function necessary for the implementation of this law.

CHAPTER VI

OF SANTIONS

Article 15.- Sanctions. Violation of the provisions of this Act shall be liable to the penalties set out in Chapter III of Title IV of Decree 274/2019 of Commercial Loyalty, as appropriate.

Article 16.- The provisions of this law are integrated with the general and special rules applicable to consumer relations, in particular the law 24,240 of Consumer Defense and the decree 274/2019 of Commercial Loyalty.

CHAPTER VII

COMPLEMENTARY, FINAL AND TRANSITORY PROVISIONS

Article 17.- Supplementary provision. The national State shall give priority to the same convenience, in accordance with the manner in which the regulation is established, the contracting of foods and alcohols that do not have warning stamps.

Article 18.- Final provision. The warning labelling system provided for in Article 5 of this Law must be made separately and independent of the statement of ingredients and nutritional information set out in the Argentine Food Code.

Article 19.- Transitional provision. The provisions set forth in this Act must be met within a period not exceeding one hundred and eighty (180) days of their entry into force. The Micro, Small and Medium-sized Enterprises for Tram 1 determined by law 25.300 (MiPyMes), as well as the cooperatives within the framework of the popular economy, and the suppliers of products of the family farming sector defined by article 5 of Law 27.118, may exceed the implementation limit within a period not exceeding twelve (12) months of entry into force, with the possibility of extending this bound period in case of the relevant period.

Article 20. The national executive branch may, in the event that the bound subject may justify relevant reasons, have an extension of one hundred and eighty (180) days to the deadlines provided for in article 19 of this Act.

Article 21.- Foods and alcoholic beverages whose date of processing is prior to the entry into force will not be removed from the market, and may remain for sale until the stock is exhausted.

Article 22.- Commend the Executive Branch with the reformulation of the text of the Argentine Food Code in order to bring its provisions into line with this law as appropriate.

Article 23.- Regulation. The Executive Power must regulate this law within the ninety-nine (90) days of promulgation and must dictate the complementary standards necessary for its implementation.

Article 24. Contact the national executive branch.

IN THE SESSION OF THE ARGENTINE CONGRESS, IN GOOD AIRES, TO THE 26 DAYS OF THE OCTOBER OF THE YEAR DOS MIL VEINTIUNO.


CLAUDIA LEDESMA ABDALA DE ZAMORA - SERGIO MASSA - Marcelo Jorge Fuentes - Eduardo Cergnul