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Draft regulation on front of pack labelling published in Paraguay

11 August, 2023

Do you sell food & beverage products in Paraguay? If you do, it’s important to be aware that Paraguay recently joined fellow South American countries including Chile, Argentina, and Brazil in incorporating front of pack labelling into national law.

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Law No. 7092/2023 of 02 June 2023 makes it mandatory to display front of pack (FOP) warning seals on processed prepacked food products exceeding certain thresholds for sugars, saturated fats, and sodium. In August 2023, the National Institute of Food and Nutrition opened a Draft Regulation for public consultation and comment until 10 September 2023.

Additional provisions introduced by the Draft Regulation

In addition to establishing mandatory front of pack warning seals, the draft regulation establishes the following provisions:

  • Introduces fourteen products exempted from declaring FOP warning seals. Examples include olive oil and other vegetable oils, cold pressed or refined; skimmed cheeses without the addition of other nutrients that add nutritional value to the product; milk-based beverages that have been produced using exclusively dairy ingredients, without the addition of other nutrients that add nutritional value to the product, among other products.
  • Establishes the format and dimension requirements for the FOP when displaying the three nutrients (sodium, fat, and sugar), as well as when displaying one or two nutrients (examples below).

         

  • The thresholds for products subject to the application of FOP warnings were previously established in Law No. 7092/23. These are:
    Nutrients Solids Liquids
    Sodium 600mg/100g   200mg/100mL
    Sugar 15g/100g 7.5g/100mL
    Saturated fats    6g/100g 3g/100mL
  • Introduces specific font size, font style, and font height depending on the size of the product.
  • Establishes that the use of nutrition claims related to the FOP symbols displayed on the product would not be permitted.
  • Lays down specific requirements on how to display the symbols in multipack products.
  • Establishes the entry into force dates for the food industry, including small and micro business, once the Regulation is published. For the food industry this is 18 months, while small and micro businesses have 24 months to make necessary changes.
  • Additionally, according to the Draft, the use of stickers to comply with the requirements established, once approved, would be accepted.

The above provisions are still being discussed; however, it is important for food business operators (FBOs) to follow the development and timelines of these regulations to be prepared to introduce any required changes that may affect their products.

Support with labelling compliance

To learn more about how to comply with the labelling requirements in Paraguay and/or labelling requirements in other Latin American countries, please get in touch at [email protected]. Leatherhead’s experienced team of scientists and regulatory experts, including former regulators and industry advocates, can support you every step of the way.

If you are a member of Leatherhead Food Research, you may use your helpline hours to learn how these changes when introduced could directly impact your products.
Follow the link to learn more about Leatherhead’s product compliance services.