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The rapid rise in prevalence of overweight/obesity, as well as high prevalence of type 2 diabetes and other nutrition-related noncommunicable diseases, has led the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) to propose a front-of-package labeling (FOPL) regulation. An effective FOPL system applies a nutrient profile model that identifies foods high in sugar, sodium, and saturated fat that would receive a warning label for consumers to effectively discern between more and less healthy foods. Previous Nutrition Alchemy data collected by the food industry (n = 1306 products) estimated that approximately 96% of foods in India would have at least one warning label based on the FSSAI proposed FOPL. This near universal coverage of warning labels may be inaccurate and misleading. To address this, the current study compared two nutrient profile models, the WHO South-East Asia Region Organization (SEARO) and the Chilean Warning Octagon (CWO) Phase 3, applied to food products available in the Indian market from 2015-2020, collected through Mintel Global New Products Database (n = 10,501 products). Results suggest that 68% of foods and beverages would have at least one ' high-in' level warning label. This study highlights the need to include a more comprehensive sample of food products for assessing the value of warning labels.

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The Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) and Chile stage III nutrient profiling systems (NPSs) were applied to packaged beverages/foods sold in Jamaica to: (a) identify products with excess nutrients of concern (NOC) under each NPS; (b) assess differences between these NPS, and (c) discuss the advantages and disadvantages of each NPS when applied to Jamaica's food supply. Data on 6261 branded multi-ingredient packaged products were collected from the city of Kingston in 2018; of these, 4739 products, comprised of 3423 foods (from 15 food groups) and 1316 beverages (from four beverage groups), provided sufficient information. Products containing excessive NOC under each NPS were identified and the proportions of categories with excess NOC were compared using correlation coefficients. Also assessed were the mean nutrient values among the subset of products exceeding versus not exceeding both NPSs using tests of significance. A larger proportion of packaged beverages and foods exceeds thresholds under PAHO versus Chile Stage III. Additionally, a larger percentage of foods, like fruits, vegetables, legumes, fish and seafood, would be considered as having excess sugar or sodium under PAHO versus Chile. This is the first study in the Caribbean that applies two existing NPSs to packaged products. The results can help to determine an appropriate NPS for use in Jamaica as the basis for food and nutrition policies, to help consumers make improved food choices.

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BACKGROUND: Front-of-package warning labels are an increasingly common policy and have been implemented to inform consumers of the nutritional quality of ultra-processed foods. This study examined the proportion of Colombian products that could be subjected to such regulations. METHODS: Two nutrition profile models were compared: the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) model, and the nutrient profile established under the Chilean food labeling and advertising law (Chilean model). Products (n = 6708) exceeding nutrient criteria based on each model were identified as subject to regulation. RESULTS: A total of 80.2% (PAHO model) to 66.4% (Chilean model) of foods met the criteria for regulation. The categories with the highest proportion of regulated products were meats (97.3% PAHO model; 87.5% Chilean model), sweets (95.6% PAHO) and snacks (Chilean model). The category with the lowest proportions of regulated products were cereals (47.3% PAHO model) and miscellaneous foods and fish/seafood (39.0% and 39.5%, respectively, Chilean model). CONCLUSIONS: Under both the PAHO and Chilean nutrient profile models, the majority of packaged foods available in Bogotá would be eligible to receive front-of-package warning labels. These results suggest a warning label law could have a major impact on the Colombian food supply, especially in the context of the growing prevalence of diet-related chronic diseases in Colombia.

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Increased interest among consumers in the reduction of dietary sugar intake has led to the wider availability of food products containing non-nutritive sweeteners (NNS). However, the extent to which NNS are currently being used by manufacturers to sweeten processed food and beverage products, and how NNS may be displacing added sugars as a sweetener is unknown. The current study utilized branded food composition databases from Australia, Mexico, New Zealand and the US to determine the percentage of processed food and beverage products for which there are nutrition data containing NNS and to compare total sugar density (g per 100 mL for beverages and g per 100 g for foods) between products with and without NNS. Ordinary least squares regression at the country-product level was performed to examine associations between presence of NNS and total sugar. Across all countries, 5% of products contained at least one NNS, with the highest prevalence among beverages (22%). Mexico had the highest percentage of products with NNS (11%), as compared to the United States (US) (4%), New Zealand (1%), and Australia (<1%). The presence of NNS was associated with lower mean total sugar density among beverages (range across countries: 7.5 to 8.7 g per 100 mL) and among foods (23.2 to 25.5 g per 100 g). Products with both added sugar ingredients and NNS had a lower overall mean total sugar density when compared to products containing only added sugar ingredients. Due to paucity of data on sales and market shares across these countries, our results do not reflect the extent to which consumers purchase NNS containing products. Continued monitoring of NNS in the food supply, extension of work from these data, and inclusion of market shares of products will be important as more countries introduce policies to reduce sugar.

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OBJECTIVE: To compare estimates from one day with usual intake estimates to evaluate how the adjustment for within-person variability affected nutrient intake and adequacy in Mexican children. DESIGN: In order to obtain usual nutrient intakes, the National Cancer Institute's method was used to correct the first 24 h dietary recall collected in the entire sample (n 2045) with a second 24 h recall collected in a sub-sample (n 178). We computed estimates of one-day and usual intakes of total energy, fat, Fe, Zn and Na. SETTING: 2012 Mexican National Health and Nutrition Survey. SUBJECTS: A total of 2045 children were included: 0-5·9 months old (n 182), 6-11·9 months old (n 228), 12-23·9 months old (n 537) and 24-47·9 months old (n 1098). From these, 178 provided an additional dietary recall. RESULTS: Although we found small or no differences in energy intake (kJ/d and kcal/d) between one-day v. usual intake means, the prevalence of inadequate and excessive energy intake decreased somewhat when using measures of usual intake relative to one day. Mean fat intake (g/d) was not different between one-day and usual intake among children >6 months old, but the prevalence of inadequate and excessive fat intake was overestimated among toddlers and pre-schoolers when using one-day intake (P6 months. CONCLUSIONS: There was overall low variability in energy and fat intakes but higher for micronutrients. Because the usual intake distributions are narrower, the prevalence of inadequate/excessive intakes may be biased when estimating nutrient adequacy if one day of data is used.

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