Heath experts say food warning labels necessary to prevent diseases

Media roundtable in food warning labels with health advocates on Friday, November 8, 2024 at B Hotel in Quezon City.  Dianne Sampang/INQUIRER.net

MANILA, Philippines — Health advocates on Friday reiterated the importance of passing a bill requiring food warning labels, emphasizing promoting a healthy lifestyle among Filipinos especially the children.

Health experts pointed out that more Filipinos developing non-communicable diseases (NCDs) is a growing problem in the country and that current nutrition labels in packaging are not enough to raise awareness on the contents of food they take.

“The reason for the urgency of this bill, one of the causes of deaths in the Philippines, 70 percent of them are non-communicable diseases… We can promote avoidance of proceeding to non-communicable diseases when we promote healthy diet and good choices in terms of nutrition,” Dr. Maricar Sabeniano, oncology manager of the Philippine Cancer Society, said in a media roundtable in Quezon City.

Jennina Duatin, Board of Trustee of the Diabetes Philippines, said that the cases of diabetes and obesity in the country are on the rise, especially in children. Duatin stressed that the importance of food warning labels will allow consumers to wisely decide on their food intake.

READ: Unicef: 2 million Filipino children severely food poor

“Front package warning label is very significant in reading nutrition facts and this is very easy to read even if it is in a sachet or bottle,” Duatin added in Filipino.

Further, the health advocates, comprising Health Justice, Healthy Alliance Philippines Alliance, and Imagine Law underscored the importance of their “Dapat may babala!” campaign.

“It is important that we advocate for food warning labels just to make our people aware that what we’re eating is what we’re causing,” Dr. Jaime Galvez Tan, former Department of Health chief and lead convenor of Healthy Philippines Alliance echoed, said in a mix of Filipino and English.

Sen. Risa Hontiveros, author of the Senate Bill 2700 or the Healthy Food Marketing Environment Act, extended her support for the campaign, emphasizing the need in creating a healthy environment for children.

“I am sure that if our children’s diet is healthier and more balanced, they can face life’s hardships,” Hontiveros said in a mix of Filipino and English in a video message.

The Senate bill requires front-of-package warning labels that will help identify if a food is high in fat, sodium, or sugar. There are also other bills filed in the lower chamber seeking to enforce the same measure.

Further, Jofti Villena, Board of Trustee of The Policy Center, explained the design of the front-of-packaging warning labels, emphasizing that it can easily be understood by everyone.

“It’s black and octagonal ang shape which means parang it looks like stop sign, meaning, magpause ka (you pause)… Ikaw na mismo ang magstop sa sarili mo (You regulate yourself)… And you don’t need to compute right there and there,” Vilena noted.

A food exhibit showing the nutrient contents using food warning labels. Dianne Sampang/INQUIRER.net

The alliance underscored how other countries have succeeded in implementing food warning labels, eventually influencing the buying behavior of consumers and their healthcare system.

READ: Warning labels pushed to encourage better food choices

“There was a consumer behavior change… Consumers are not the only one being affected by this, but also the government. They are spending less on healthcare because nagkakaroon ng priority on preventive healthcare,” said Atty. Laurence Millan, Project Manager of ImagineLaw, in a mix of Filipino and English.