G/TBT/W/406  
11 May 2015  
(15-2457)  Page: 1/2  
Committee on Technical Barriers to Trade  Original: Spanish  
 
  CHILE – FOOD HEALTH REGULATIONS 
STATEMENT BY MEXICO TO THE COMMITT EE ON TECHNICAL BARRIERS TO TRADE 
AT ITS MEETING OF 18-19 MARCH 2015 
The following communication, dated 8 May 2015, is being circulated at the request of the 
delegation of Mexico. 
 
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  1.  Mexico once again presents its trade concern with regard to the proposed amendment 
to the Food Health Regulations, Supreme Decr ee No. 977/96, issued by Chile and notified 
to WTO Members in document G/TBT/N/CHL/282. This concern was first expressed in the Committee in March 2013 and has been reiterated at several Committee meetings since then. 
a. The Food Health Regulations contain provisions on the nutritional composition of food 
and on food advertising (including labelling), in accordance with Law No. 20.606, with the aim of informing the public of th e energy, sugar, sodium and saturated fat 
content of the foods they consume. 
b. It should first be noted that, although the statute establishing the amendment to the 
Food Health Regulations (Law No. 20.606) has technical regulation characteristics as provided for in Annex 1 to the TBT Agreement, it is considered that 
the Chilean Government has failed to comply with the transparency obligation set forth 
in Article 2.9 of the Agreement, and this prevented Mexico from being able to issue 
comments for consideration in the course of its preparation. 
c. However, the amendment to the Food Health Regulations provides that "it shall be 
compulsory to highlight the nutritional characteristics of any type of food or food product when its energy, sodium, total sugar or saturated fat content is not the same as in 
natural form and exceeds the value established in table No. 1 of this Article". The table 
in question sets forth limits on the energy, sodium, sugar and saturated fat content of foods. Foods that exceed the established limits shall highlight the nutritional characteristics by means of the descriptive  stamp "EXCESS", followed by: "SATURATED 
FATS", "SODIUM", "SUGAR" or "CALORIES". 
d. Mexico considers that Chile may be contravening principles of the TBT Agreement, 
specifically the need to base technical regulations on international standards, as 
stipulated in Article 2.4 of the TBT Agreemen t, since these provisions are not based on 
the General Guidelines on Claims of the Co dex Alimentarius (CAC/GL 1-1979, point 3.5). 
e. It should be mentioned that Mexico considers that every food possesses inherent 
nutritional characteristics, for which reason no food can be characterized as "good" or 
"bad" in relation to its nutritional content, so that the provisions of the amendment to the Regulations, specifically the provision relating to the label "EXCESS", could arouse fear in consumers by leading them to assume that non-transmissible diseases such as 
obesity are caused by the consumption of specific foods. G/TBT/W/406 
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  f. The regulation also provides for limits on the energy, sodium, total sugar and saturated 
fat content of solid and liquid foods. Mexico considers that this provision has no technical or scientific basis, as there is no national or international precedent for distinguishing between solid and liquid foods or using such a distinction to delimit their nutritional 
content. 
g. In the light of the principle of proportionality set forth in Article 2.2 of the 
TBT Agreement, Mexico requests Chile to provide information in support of this provision 
of the technical regulation. 
h. The proposed amendment to the Food Health Regulations provides that "foods or food 
products whose nutritional composition comprises energy, sodium, sugars or saturated fats in amounts higher than those specif ied in table No. 1 of Article 120 of the 
Regulations (referred to above), may not be advertised in the media or channels of 
communication targeting minors aged under 14 […]." This prohibition on advertising does not apply to foods containing energy, sugars, sodium, or saturated fats in a natural 
form, consistent with the Dietary Guid elines of the Ministry of Health". 
i. In this connection, Mexico would like to see the scientific or technical evidence justifying 
this prohibition on advertising to minors aged under 14 as well as the exception 
established for products whose energy, sugar, sodium or saturated fat content is in a 
natural form. 
2.  Accordingly, Mexico respectfully requests Chile: 
a. To submit to public consultation the provisions that have given rise to the amendments 
to the Food Health Regulations. 
b. To harmonize the requirements set forth in the regulations with the General Guidelines 
on Claims of the Codex Alimentarius (CAC/GL 1-1979, point 3.5). 
c. To provide an explanation of the scientific and technical evidence supporting the use 
of labels bearing the term "EXCESS" in the light of the legitimate objective pursued by the amendment to the Food Health Regulations. 
d. To modify the classification of foods on the basis of a distinction between liquid and solid 
foods and, in accordance with international parameters, to classify foods according to the category to which they belong. 
e. To provide information in support of the prohibition on advertising certain foods to 
minors aged under 14 and to clarify and, if necessary, eliminate the exemption for foods 
whose energy, sugar, sodium or saturated fat content is in natural form, having regard to the provisions of the amendment to the regulations. 
f. To consider extending from 6 to 18 months  the date of entry into force of the 
amendments to the regulations. 
g. To take into account and respond to the formal comments made by the Government 
of Mexico on the final text of the regulation in question, as transmitted to the 
Chilean Government through its enquiry point on 22 October of this year. 
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