Warning labels pushed to encourage better food choices

MANILA, Philippines — A network of civil society groups has called on policymakers and legislators to take the lead in coming up with a policy for food warning labels to help reduce the prevalence of noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) in the country, such as hypertension and different kinds of cancers.

Healthy Philippines Alliance (HPA) made the call on Wednesday, also World Food Day, and in time for the commemoration of Global Week for Action on NCDs, highlighted by the signing of a memorandum of understanding among different private groups and government agencies formalizing their collective commitment to combating NCDs and a campaign pushing for the mandatory food warning label policy to empower Filipino consumers to make healthier choices.

READ: Unicef: 2 million Filipino children severely food poor

NCDs have become the leading cause of death in the country, with cardiovascular diseases (250,000), ischemic heart disease (130,000), stroke (74,200), cancer (69,000), diabetes (32,300), and chronic kidney disease (16,700) accounting for 511,000 out of 733,000 total deaths in 2019.

“Do we want these tiring numbers to double by the year 2040? Of course, our answer is no. If we do not do anything now, we will suffer in the future,” former Health Secretary and HPA lead convenor Jaime Galvez Tan said.

He called on policymakers and Congress to speed up the implementation of policies to address NCDs, saying one of the best solutions was food warning labels.

Based on the 2020 policy brief of the United Nations Children’s Fund, food labeling policies “have the potential to reduce the prevalence and incidence of a range of NCDs by as much as 5 percent.”

Back vs front

The Philippines currently implements a mandatory back-of-pack label on prepackaged food products, including a complete list of ingredients, allergen information, and a nutrition facts table in compliance with Department of Health Administrative Order No. 2014-030. Endorsement logos, particularly the “Sangkap Pinoy Seal,” are also implemented to identify food products fortified with iodine, iron, and Vitamin A.

However, these were deemed “ineffective” in informing or educating Filipino consumers to make healthier choices. According to an HPA policy brief, front-of-pack warning labels are particularly well-suited to the Philippines “where there is a high prevalence of limited health literacy and low interest in nutrition information, which render back-of-pack labels less effective locally.”