- The food labeling policy was approved in March 2020, although some companies such as Nestlé have not fully complied with it.
- This strategy seeks to reduce obesity levels in Mexico because it is already a public health problem.
- Complaints from the Swiss emporium also spread to Ecuador, Chile and Peru, where similar warning labels were also introduced.
An investigation published by the Swiss civil organization Public Eye, dedicated to documenting human rights violations by companies, cases of corruption and illegal business models, revealed how Nestlé interfered in the labeling policy in Mexico through the Swiss government.
The warning labeling in Mexico was approved in March 2020 as a public health measure in the fight against obesity in one of the countries with the highest prevalence of this disease. However, during the approval process there was strong resistance from various groups in the food industry whose commercial and economic interests were affected. Among these companies was Nestlé, which showed great resistance and concern during the discussion of the Mexican warning label, in 2019.
According to data obtained by the Swiss organization, a market valued at more than one billion Swiss francs was at stake for the Vevey, Switzerland-based food company, profits that were threatened by the implementation of this policy of black warnings on consumption. of nutrients that damage health.
And it is that Nestlé products such as chocolates, confectionery, ice cream, powdered drinks were threatened with receiving at least one warning seal with the front labeling. To this should be added the sales of several Nestlé dairy product brands, which currently have seals and which generated an additional 270 million Swiss francs in sales in the Mexican market in 2019. And finally, we must add the sales of various brand products such as Nescafé, Maggi or from the range of cereals that also have warning labels.
The way Nestlé tried to stop food labeling
recent research “Against the warning labeling for junk food in Mexico. How the Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) danced to the tune of Nestlé” published by the organization Public Eye, documents with emails and internal documents, how the SECO acted as an extension of Nestlé to try to stop the warning labeling in Mexico.
And it is that according to the organization, in November 2019, an email was sent from Nestlé to SECOwith an attached document, mentioning the aspects of the Mexican standard project that were problematic for the Swiss company, thanking them for their support and defense of their interests.
As a result of this communication, SECO sent a letter to the Mexican government and intervened at the level of the World Trade Organization (WTO), raising the concerns regarding Mexican regulation that had been identified by Nestlé.
Also, insisted on the introduction of the Nutri-Score, a voluntary labeling system adopted in Switzerland and promoted by Nestléin which junk food is rated significantly more favorably compared to black warning labeling.
While internationally Nestlé mobilized to prevent the approval of the labelingthe same company in Mexico sent an email to its suppliers asking for their support to intervene against labeling in the public consultation of NOM 051, which remained open at the end of 2019.
Alejandro Calvillo, director of The Power of the Consumer, pointed out: “A year ago, in June 2021, an internal document from the Nestlé company was leaked in which it acknowledges that more than 60% of its products are not healthy. Nestlé recognizes this internally, but does everything possible so that consumers do not have this information and for this they obtain the support of the Swiss government.
But this was not the only government that tried to stop this labeling, the European Union and the United States did it, also through the World Trade Organization in collusion with their unhealthy food and beverage companies. They know that their products are a threat to health, but the only thing that interests them is to increase their sales”.
Research by Public Eye shows that Swiss lobbying in Mexico was not an isolated case, as SECO also intervened during discussions in Ecuador, Chile and Peru, who also introduced similar warning labels.
Strategies like these have been observed at various times in public policy discussions that try to curb the rapid increase in obesity and chronic diseases in Mexico and other countries, evidencing the clear conflict of interest of officials and governments who intervene at the request of the big companies.