00:00They are generating an alert that you don't have to consume.
00:02The truth is that I'm doing the same.
00:04That you don't have to consume so many fats, sugar, saturates.
00:07They help me to choose what I don't have to buy.
00:10Every more visible, the Advertencia is looking to orient the decisions of consumption
00:15towards less ultra-processing options.
00:18But, how do you understand and incorporate people's decisions in their purchase decisions?
00:23I'm ignoring them because we never take care of that paper and we always eat them.
00:29They are very important for the consumer to be informed.
00:35I understand that it is a product that is not as nutritious that can cause a deterioration of the health.
00:41In some things, they help me.
00:43In others, I ignore them because they are daily bread.
00:46That one uses them.
00:49Yes, one uses them.
00:50During the last five years, we have been used to find the Advertencia in many products we consume daily.
00:58They have to incentivize the consumption of products that have high levels of these ingredients
01:03associated with diseases such as obesity, diabetes, and cardiovascular problems.
01:09And, at the same time, push the industry to offer more healthy options.
01:13And, well, although the policy is relatively recent,
01:16there are some pistons that suggest that they are working.
01:19The Advertencia Etiquetado ha worked.
01:23It is a public health measure that, along with the health of these products,
01:29they have managed to reduce the consumption of these types of products.
01:33The first one, published by researchers from the University of CECI,
01:40shows that the industry has moved.
01:42Between 2015 and 2024,
01:44several products reduced their consumption of sugar and soy,
01:47in many cases, just to evitar the sell.
01:49That is, there was reformation.
01:51The second one, published by researchers from the University of Rosario,
01:55looks at the impact of the economy.
01:56Contrary to what had gremios like the ANDI or FENALCO,
01:59no were found despidos or caídas of ingresos after the impuestos and the etiquetado.
02:03But, now, the Ministry of Health of Guilherme Alfonso Jaramillo
02:06prepara some changes to that etiquetado,
02:08and it does help solve two problems of the current norm.
02:12The first one is to do with the small empaques.
02:15The norm allows some products to replace the sellos visible
02:19by QR codes or QR codes.
02:21The problem is that, many times, those links do not work.
02:24They are on the same page, or even on the public.
02:27In practice, the information is clear and accessible at the moment of the purchase.
02:32From the monitoring we did in FIAN Colombia,
02:35that in 68 products,
02:37which, with a small etiquette,
02:40only in 5 cases,
02:42the QR code was directed to the specific etiquette of the advertences.
02:48The second one is the reformation.
02:50Yes, many products have been reduced to sugar or sodium,
02:53but they have not always become more healthy.
02:55In many cases,
02:57they adjust the formula just to avoid the sellos
03:00while adding more additives
03:02and ultra-processed ingredients
03:04that are not very healthy.
03:05We don't see the excess of sodium,
03:07we don't see the excess of sugar,
03:09we don't see the excess of sugar,
03:11but what they have found is that they have replaced these ingredients
03:15for a large amount of additives.
03:19We have the colorants,
03:20the additives,
03:21the artificial flavor,
03:23which even in countries like the United States,
03:25many of them have been prohibited
03:27because they are cancerous
03:28and represent a real risk for the public health
03:32when their consumption is frequent,
03:34for example,
03:36through the ultra-processed ingredients.
03:37The new Regulation of MiSalud
03:39seeks to close those empty spaces.
03:40For one,
03:41it proposes create a new sellos
03:42specific for products ultra-processed
03:45that does not replace the actual ones,
03:47but complement the actual ones.
03:48So,
03:49even if a product
03:49can avoid the sellos
03:51by excess of sugar,
03:52sodium or grasas,
03:53it would still take that advertences
03:55if its composition depends on the additives
03:57like additives,
03:58colorants,
03:59flavoring,
03:59or potenciadores of the flavor
04:01if they don't provide any nutrients.
04:03For another,
04:04they introduce the called micro-sellos
04:05for small packages.
04:07In place of that information
04:09go in a QR,
04:10these sellos would show,
04:11with a visible number,
04:13how many advertences have the product
04:14so that the consumer
04:16can understand it from a view.
04:17The organizations of the civil society
04:19support these changes.
04:21The resolution of the Ministry of Health
04:24is a proposal
04:26for the Colombians.
04:28It is a resolution
04:29based on scientific evidence
04:31and what it does
04:32is to propose
04:32a new advertences
04:34on the ultraprocessing.
04:35However,
04:36the industry has some repairs.
04:38Gremios like the ANDI
04:39have expressed their concern
04:41about the reach of the changes.
04:43They say that the measure
04:44would mean to re-diseñar
04:45etiquettes,
04:46adjust processes
04:46and asumir costs
04:47in periods that they consider
04:49insufficient.
04:50They also question
04:51the creation of a specific
04:52label for ultraprocessing.
04:53For the employers,
04:55the new measures
04:55are desproporcionadas.
04:57And while the discussion
04:58continues,
04:59the estimates
04:59more recent
05:00apuntan
05:01that in Colombia,
05:02more than half of the population
05:03already present
05:04excesses of weight.
05:04between the schools,
05:06the obesity and obesity
05:07passed from 18,8%
05:09in 2010
05:09to 24,4%
05:11in 2015
05:11and today,
05:12one of the three adults
05:13have a breastfeeding
05:14and one of the five
05:15is obese,
05:16according to the
05:17of the Situation Nutricional.
05:18What is behind that?
05:20There are two factors,
05:21but there are two that appear
05:22at the same time,
05:23the lack of physical activity
05:24and the consumption
05:25of these ultraprocessing.
05:27The evidence most solid
05:29available
05:29is that the consumption
05:30of these products
05:32is displacing
05:33traditional diet
05:35deteriorating
05:35the nutritional quality
05:36and associated
05:37with a higher risk
05:38of multiple
05:39chronic diseases
05:40which has led
05:41to the need
05:42to make
05:43more robust
05:44to limit
05:45its impact
05:45in the public health.
05:47If you want more information
05:48about this topic,
05:49visit the section
05:50of the website
05:51www.elespectador.com
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