Tigre Toño v. México
August 21, 2023 9:56 AM Subscribe
Kellogg’s is going to war over Mexico’s nutrition label rules. A similar fight is coming to the U.S. (archive.today link)
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posted by SaltySalticid at 10:17 AM on August 21, 2023 [5 favorites]
posted by SaltySalticid at 10:17 AM on August 21, 2023 [5 favorites]
I was in Mexico recently and I thought those front of package warning labels were really clear and readable -- and that's keeping in mind that I don't speak Spanish.
I can certainly see why Kellogg's doesn't want to see its packaging go the way of cigarette packaging covered in scary warnings, but maybe they should make less shitty products, then.
posted by jacquilynne at 10:22 AM on August 21, 2023 [25 favorites]
I can certainly see why Kellogg's doesn't want to see its packaging go the way of cigarette packaging covered in scary warnings, but maybe they should make less shitty products, then.
posted by jacquilynne at 10:22 AM on August 21, 2023 [25 favorites]
Making less shitty products would cut into their bottom line.
posted by heyitsgogi at 10:31 AM on August 21, 2023 [5 favorites]
posted by heyitsgogi at 10:31 AM on August 21, 2023 [5 favorites]
It seems inevitable that a U.S. labeling policy will end up being challenged in the courts as well. Food companies here have already indicated they believe mandatory food labels would likely violate the U.S. Constitution.
Same as the FDA rule about graphical cigarette warnings, which keeps on getting kicked down the road. What little I understand of the tobacco case suggests that so long as the language the FDA is requiring isn't inflammatory -- "excessive sugar" would not, I assume, fly -- it's probably constitutional. Although obviously that doesn't stop the lawsuits, and if the Supreme Court decides to take it up, well... might as well prepare for Pres'nt Crunch.
posted by uncleozzy at 10:32 AM on August 21, 2023 [6 favorites]
Same as the FDA rule about graphical cigarette warnings, which keeps on getting kicked down the road. What little I understand of the tobacco case suggests that so long as the language the FDA is requiring isn't inflammatory -- "excessive sugar" would not, I assume, fly -- it's probably constitutional. Although obviously that doesn't stop the lawsuits, and if the Supreme Court decides to take it up, well... might as well prepare for Pres'nt Crunch.
posted by uncleozzy at 10:32 AM on August 21, 2023 [6 favorites]
Companies like Coca-Cola and Kraft Heinz have begun designing their products so that their packages don’t have a true front or back, but rather two nearly identical labels — except for the fact that only one side has the required warning.
A similar trick won't work under US labeling law — the regs are clear that any display panel must contain all the required labeling and warnings. There's some wiggle room when a side or top panel should be considered an alternate display panel but claiming that the back of pack isn't a display panel when, other than a warning, it's identical to the front of pack is laughable.
posted by nathan_teske at 10:36 AM on August 21, 2023 [9 favorites]
A similar trick won't work under US labeling law — the regs are clear that any display panel must contain all the required labeling and warnings. There's some wiggle room when a side or top panel should be considered an alternate display panel but claiming that the back of pack isn't a display panel when, other than a warning, it's identical to the front of pack is laughable.
posted by nathan_teske at 10:36 AM on August 21, 2023 [9 favorites]
When this act went into effect, there was suddenly a huge offload of Mexican cereals at the Job Lots. (C.f. what happens to all those returns? post.) Tigre Toño was my breakfast companion for a few months. Since then I've seen some of the imports and it's impressively less appealing.
posted by cobaltnine at 10:42 AM on August 21, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by cobaltnine at 10:42 AM on August 21, 2023 [1 favorite]
if they don’t want to label their products they can stop selling them.
posted by interogative mood at 10:58 AM on August 21, 2023 [4 favorites]
posted by interogative mood at 10:58 AM on August 21, 2023 [4 favorites]
Companies like Coca-Cola and Kraft Heinz have begun designing their products so that their packages don’t have a true front or back, but rather two nearly identical labels — except for the fact that only one side has the required warning.
That caught my attention, too, but in more of a "If you're not sure the company you're working for is evil, well... this is fucking evil." If you have to go to such great lengths to hide the fact that you're producing trash and selling it as "food", maybe just stop doing that?
posted by xedrik at 11:47 AM on August 21, 2023 [4 favorites]
That caught my attention, too, but in more of a "If you're not sure the company you're working for is evil, well... this is fucking evil." If you have to go to such great lengths to hide the fact that you're producing trash and selling it as "food", maybe just stop doing that?
posted by xedrik at 11:47 AM on August 21, 2023 [4 favorites]
I would think that the Mexican government would be able to say "hey, if Kellogg's keeps running down this road, we're just going to ban all of it and treat it like a class 1 scheduled narcotic" or similar. Sovereign nations have that capability, right? Or has the Mexican government fully enshittified like the US and become a plutocracy too?
posted by ensign_ricky at 11:51 AM on August 21, 2023
posted by ensign_ricky at 11:51 AM on August 21, 2023
Or has the Mexican government fully enshittified like the US and become a plutocracy too?
Much as the US has gone down the tubes, Mexico has always been far ahead in terms of plutocracy.
And this labelling system is, I think, a net positive, although it has some weird, non-scientific aspects that I'm not crazy about, like a label for artificial sweeteners that recommends the product not be given to children, or disallowing products with sugar substitutes labelling like "Helps manage your blood sugar" (as part of a larger rule about disallowing health claims). There's also been some talk about "traditional" products, that is, things that are traditionally part of Mexican cuisine, etc., being exempt, which would be extremely dumb, but I'm unsure if that actually made it into law.
posted by Joakim Ziegler at 12:08 PM on August 21, 2023 [2 favorites]
Much as the US has gone down the tubes, Mexico has always been far ahead in terms of plutocracy.
And this labelling system is, I think, a net positive, although it has some weird, non-scientific aspects that I'm not crazy about, like a label for artificial sweeteners that recommends the product not be given to children, or disallowing products with sugar substitutes labelling like "Helps manage your blood sugar" (as part of a larger rule about disallowing health claims). There's also been some talk about "traditional" products, that is, things that are traditionally part of Mexican cuisine, etc., being exempt, which would be extremely dumb, but I'm unsure if that actually made it into law.
posted by Joakim Ziegler at 12:08 PM on August 21, 2023 [2 favorites]
FWIW we have this same policy in place in Chile since 2016, and I'm guessing the Mexican one is based on ours, down to the design of the labels. It seems to be working..
The companies cried a lot here, too, some even put additional labels next to the mandatory ones showing what the nutrition values were for their "suggested" serving sizes (ie: ludicrously small). There were also some really stupid sugar-racket industry financed 'viral' commercials about how bad it was to tell people what was in food.
The president at the time was Michelle Bachelet, a medical doctor, and she pushed it through anyway.
posted by signal at 12:20 PM on August 21, 2023 [18 favorites]
The companies cried a lot here, too, some even put additional labels next to the mandatory ones showing what the nutrition values were for their "suggested" serving sizes (ie: ludicrously small). There were also some really stupid sugar-racket industry financed 'viral' commercials about how bad it was to tell people what was in food.
The president at the time was Michelle Bachelet, a medical doctor, and she pushed it through anyway.
posted by signal at 12:20 PM on August 21, 2023 [18 favorites]
Found the commercial, it basically uses a bunch of locally well-known actors and sports people to put foward the argument that it's portion sizes that matter, ie personal choices.
It was transparent bullshit and nobody really took it seriously.
posted by signal at 12:52 PM on August 21, 2023 [4 favorites]
It was transparent bullshit and nobody really took it seriously.
posted by signal at 12:52 PM on August 21, 2023 [4 favorites]
Latest Food Labeling Research Upholds Diet Culture
posted by Ideefixe at 2:26 PM on August 21, 2023 [2 favorites]
posted by Ideefixe at 2:26 PM on August 21, 2023 [2 favorites]
Kellogg’s is going to war over Mexico’s nutrition label rules.
the trick is not to reference nutrition which has an actual definition.
calling something wholesome on the other hand ... ?
WARNING: that's a Quora link.
posted by philip-random at 11:48 PM on August 21, 2023 [1 favorite]
the trick is not to reference nutrition which has an actual definition.
calling something wholesome on the other hand ... ?
WARNING: that's a Quora link.
posted by philip-random at 11:48 PM on August 21, 2023 [1 favorite]
I think the thing about sugar substitutes being labeled “helps manage your blood sugar” is that it’s true only for some very specific sugar substitutes but is often advertised by all of them.
posted by corb at 2:21 AM on August 22, 2023
posted by corb at 2:21 AM on August 22, 2023
"The food industry will be looking for every [froot] loophole"
posted by Galaxor Nebulon at 4:07 AM on August 22, 2023
posted by Galaxor Nebulon at 4:07 AM on August 22, 2023
How clever of them to pick a sugar substitute called All U Lose.
posted by flabdablet at 4:16 AM on August 22, 2023
posted by flabdablet at 4:16 AM on August 22, 2023
How clever of them to pick a sugar substitute called All U Lose.
Well, they weren't going to call it psicose!
posted by Orange Pamplemousse at 5:30 AM on August 22, 2023
Well, they weren't going to call it psicose!
posted by Orange Pamplemousse at 5:30 AM on August 22, 2023
Sovereign nations have that capability, right?
Maybe. Most countries, including Mexico, work within a web of trade agreements and membership in entities like WTO, NAFTA, that put limits on what you can do.
posted by mrgoldenbrown at 12:33 PM on August 23, 2023
Maybe. Most countries, including Mexico, work within a web of trade agreements and membership in entities like WTO, NAFTA, that put limits on what you can do.
posted by mrgoldenbrown at 12:33 PM on August 23, 2023
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