Not in the US or Canada – at least not yet. But in several Latin American countries, tobacco-style warnings on ultra-processed foods are now a reality. Those are the first countries to institute the stark health warnings, being considered by many others…
In the shape of black-and-white stop signs, they warn in bold print that the product inside poses one or more of 5 key health hazards. Choose any or all of: Excess Sodium, Excess Sugar, Excess Saturated Fat, Excess Total Fat, and Excess Calories…
The rationale
Dr. Carlos Monteiro, a professor of nutrition and public health at the University of São Paulo, Brazil, and a nutritional epidemiologist, has had a busy last decade. He’s been on a crusade to combat the evils of processed foods.
First, he developed the NOVA classification system for foods. The protocol places all foods into one of four categories, ranging from unprocessed foods — like fresh fruits, vegetables, and meats — to ultra-processed foods (UPFs) that contain additives, flavorings, colourings, excess fats, excess sodium, excess sugars, and excess calories.
Labelling debate
UPFs have been demonized widely as health hazards, and clear front-of-package warning labels indicating the degree of processing of packages foods have been proposed in many countries, But the form these labels should take has yet to be standardized.
As a leader in the fight, Monteiro has proposed the strongest possible warnings: Tobacco-style messages that no consumer could miss.
Four Latin American governments have already mandated the use of the new warnings, including Mexico, Colombia, Argentina and Peru.
A fundamental threat to health
Monteiro has long trumpeted he dangers of processed foods. “UPFs are increasing their share in and domination of global diets, despite the risk they represent to health in terms of increasing the risk of multiple chronic diseases,” Montiero told The Guardian last month.
“UPFs are displacing healthier, less processed foods all over the world, and also causing a deter-ioration in diet quality due to their several harmful attributes. Together, these foods are driving the pandemic of obesity and other diet-related chronic diseases, such as diabetes.”
Recent surveys revealed that processed foods and UPFs together make up 60 percent of the average American’s diet. And we can safely assume that goes for Canadians, Mexicans, Europeans and Brits as well. UPFs have infiltrated every developed country’s food supply. And consumers have embraced them, to feed their fundamental cravings for fat, salt and sugar.
My take
One thing the new tobacco-style warnings don’t address is a key factor in the whole UPF picture. UPFs are classically addictive, in the same way, and via the same brain mechanisms that nicotine, alcohol, opiates and amphetamines are…
Simple text warnings didn’t work on cigarette packages. Nor did increasing the percentage of label space dedicated to the warnings. Even adding grizzly images of diseased hearts and lungs didn’t convince the hardest-hooked smokers to quit. Nor did they deter many new folks – mainly young people – from taking up the habit.
I’m with those who believe that only direct regulation of what goes into processed foods can achieve the results well-meaning, dedicated folks such as Monteiro are hoping for…
~ Maggie J.