Mandatory Law 27642 Promotion of Healthy Food (passed in 2021) and Decree 151/2022 (passed in 2022): includes mandatory warning labels as well as school procurement and marketing restrictions on products with labels, passed in 2022.
Disposition 6924/2022 (passed in 2022) and its annex complements Law 27642 by determining when and how-if so- advertising, promotion, and sponsorship of products with labels are allowed.
Best practice, passed in 2022
None
| Nutrient types | Sodium |
| Products sampled | 3,997 |
Data collection for this study took place in March 2022 in Buenos Aires, Argentina, within two of the country’s main supermarket chains, JUMBO and Chango Más, which together form part of the six largest grocery retailers, covering 80% of the national grocery market. Research team members conducted on-site data collection with permission from store management, using the Food Label Information and Price for Latin American and Caribbean (FLIP-LAC) smartphone app and web software, developed by the University of Toronto. The data collection process involved scanning the barcode of each product and photographing all sides of the packaging to capture comprehensive information, including product name, manufacturer, brand, serving size, container size, ingredients, and complete nutritional data (for both the product as sold and as consumed).
Products were categorized into nineteen food groups based on similar raw materials and nutritional content (e.g., bread and bakery, dairy products), or by manufacturing processes (e.g., biscuits and bread within bakery products). Each category was validated by the University of Toronto research team, with minor discrepancies resolved to maintain consistency across this regional study.
For analysis, sodium content (mg/serving) from the nutrition labels was converted to mg/100g as consumed. Median sodium values characterized each food group and category, with mean, range, and percentage coefficient of variation (CV%) as additional references.
For more information on the study methodology, please see the data source below.
Citation: Guarnieri L, Castronuovo L, Flexner N, Yang Y, L’Abbe MR, Tiscornia V. Monitoring sodium content in processed and ultraprocessed foods in Argentina 2022: compliance with National Legislation and Regional Targets. Public Health Nutr. 2024;27(1):e193. Published 2024 Oct 2. doi:10.1017/S1368980024001423
No contact information available.
Interamerican Heart Foundation Argentina, Arévalo 2364, C1425 Buenos Aires, Argentina
| Nutrient types | Sodium |
| Products sampled | 3,674 |
Data was collected by between the years of 2017-2018 the members of the research team from Interamerican Heart Foundation in four grocery stores corresponding to three leading retailers in Argentina. One of the stores was in the city of Buenos Aires and the other three stores were in Buenos Aires province.
Each product was surveyed using the food composition database software, Food Label Information Program (FLIP). Data collection consisted of scanning the bar code of each product and taking photographs of all sides of the product. This information was then uploaded to the FLIP database. For each product, the manufacturer, brand, product name, serving size, container size and complete nutritional information was entered.
Products were categorized into 14 main groups and further into 40 sub-categories corresponding to those established by national law and to regional food categories. Mean, median, interquartile range, minimum and maximum values and coefficient of variation of sodium content (mg per 100 g of product) were calculated.
Citation: Allemandi L, Tiscornia MV, Guarnieri L, Castronuovo L, Martins E. Monitoring Sodium Content in Processed Foods in Argentina 2017-2018: Compliance with National Legislation and Regional Targets. Nutrients. 2019;11(7):1474. Published 2019 Jun 28. doi:10.3390/nu11071474
Victoria Tiscornia
Researcher, FIC Argentina
[email protected]
Interamerican Heart Foundation Argentina, Arévalo 2364, C1425 Buenos Aires, Argentina
| Nutrient types | Sodium |
| Products sampled | 1,275 |
Data on packaged food in Argentina was obtained between the years of 2015-2016 by research teams from the Latin American Network of Food Composition Data System (LATINFOODS) as part of a larger study from 14 participating countries: Argentina, Barbados, Brazil, Chile, Costa Rica, Cuba, Ecuador, Guatemala, Jamaica, Mexico, Paraguay, Panama, Peru, and Trinidad and Tobago. Samples were collected from the grocery stores with the greatest market share in each country; nutrition labels were photographed for content. In Argentina, 1,275 food products were sampled
Mean, median, standard deviation, interquartile range and minimum and maximum levels were calculated for sodium content (mg/100g) in each of 12 food categories and were used for comparison with the regional target level for sodium.
Citation: Arcand J, Blanco-Metzler A, Benavides Aguilar K, L’Abbe MR, Legetic B. Sodium Levels in Packaged Foods Sold in 14 Latin American and Caribbean Countries: A Food Label Analysis. Nutrients. 2019;11(2):369. Published 2019 Feb 11. doi:10.3390/nu11020369
No contact information available
Latin American Network of Food Composition Data System (LATINFOODS)
