Impact of the Food-Labeling and Advertising Law Banning Competitive Food and Beverages in Chilean Public Schools, 2014–2016

Abstract

Objectives. To evaluate the impact of a national law banning sales of competitive food and beverages (CF&B) in schools on the availability of CF&B sold at school kiosks. Methods. This study was uncontrolled before and after study. We evaluated public schools in Santiago de Chile (n = 21; 78% response rate) in 2014 and 2016 (6 months after the law came into force). Trained personnel collected data on calories, total sugars, saturated fat, and sodium from food labels. The outcome was the percentage of foods exceeding the cutoff levels defined in the law and the mean difference between 2014 and 2016. Results. Foods exceeding any cutoffs decreased from 90.4% in 2014 to 15.0% in 2016. Solid products had a substantial reduction in calories, sugar, saturated fat, and sodium. Liquid products had a reduction in calories, total sugar, and saturated fat, whereas sodium increased. This was a result of changes in product mix. Conclusions. A ban on sales of CF&B reduced the availability of CF&B at Santiago’s school kiosks. Further research should examine the impact of this ban on food intake and health outcomes.

An evaluation of Chile’s Law of Food Labeling and Advertising on sugar-sweetened beverage purchases from 2015 to 2017: A before-and-after study

“…In addition, along with the warning-label component, the Chilean law includes marketing and school sales restrictions, which likely contributed to the larger effect found here. A recent evaluation found that schools reduced the percent of products that were high-in from 90.4% before implementation to 15.0% after implementation [70], which may have influenced children's preferences and the subsequent household purchase made by their parents. Indeed, a separate qualitative study found that schools were a key promotor of behavioral change relating to the labeling component of the law: children learned about the regulation at school and then encouraged their mothers to purchase nonlabeled foods and beverages for them [71].…”

Understanding the rise of cardiometabolic diseases in low- and middle-income countries

“…Simultaneously, the food environment was regulated, banning the sales of these foods in schools and the marketing of products in the media for children under 14 years of age. [142][143][144] While the overarching impact of these changes is still under analysis, recent studies have shown that people understand well the labeling and that after implementation they improve food healthiness classification and decrease the purchases of "high-in" products of some food categories such as sweet-sugared beverages and breakfast cereals. Similarly, food-ad exposure on television decreased among preschoolers and adolescents and the exposure to unhealthy food products at the school also decreased substantially.…”

The Relationship between Self-Reported Exposure to Sugar-Sweetened Beverage Promotions and Intake: Cross-Sectional Analysis of the 2017 International Food Policy Study

“…The wear-out effects of repetition of marketing exposure could also be studied by exploring non-linear relationships between marketing exposure and consumption [53], which was not accounted for in the present study. Further developing understanding of the relationship between SSB marketing and consumption could help policymakers develop multicomponent strategies to address SSB consumption, such as that currently being modelled in Chile [60]. For example, if SSB taxes lead to unintended changes to marketing, they could be introduced alongside greater SSB marketing restrictions.…”