The study, published in the journal BMC Medicine under the title “Changes in the critical nutrient content of packaged foods and beverages after the full implementation of the Chilean Food Labelling and Advertising Law: a repeated cross-sectional study,” analyzed the nutritional evolution of the best-selling products in Chile between 2015 and 2020, revealing that the progressive application of stricter limits generated a massive and sustained reformulation within the food industry.
Law 20.606 on the Nutritional Composition of Food and its Advertising has been a milestone in public health policies aimed at combating obesity and non-communicable diseases. However, a lingering question remained: would the food industry continue to reformulate its products as requirements became more severe, or would it cease its efforts after the initial phase? A study led by researchers from the Center for Research in Food Environments and Prevention of Nutrition-Related Chronic Diseases (CIAPEC) at the Institute of Nutrition and Food Technology (INTA) of the University of Chile, published in the journal BMC Medicine, provides answers by analyzing the impact of the full implementation of the regulation.
The study—led by Dr. Natalia Rebolledo as primary author and Dr. Camila Corvalán as corresponding author, both researchers at CIAPEC-INTA—examined changes in energy, total sugar, saturated fat, and sodium content in packaged foods and beverages across the three phases of the law (2017, 2019, and 2020), comparing them with the scenario prior to its enactment (2015-2016).
Implementation Phases — Chilean Food Labelling Act No. 20.606
Source: Ministry of Health of Chile · Law No. 20.606 on the Nutritional Composition of Food and its Advertising
An analysis of the food supply in Chile
To obtain results representative of actual population consumption, the research team utilized a prospective, repeated cross-sectional study design. They analyzed "best-selling" products, defined as those representing more than 95% of the market share in their respective categories. The final analytical sample included thousands of products collected annually from supermarkets in Santiago.
Methodologically, the researchers applied the strictest nutritional limits (those of the final phase or T3) to all periods of the study. This approach allowed for a uniform and rigorous evaluation of how many products would have qualified as "High in" before the law was implemented and how that proportion effectively decreased due to industrial reformulation.
Reductions in sugar and sodium
The results confirmed that the total proportion of products classified as "High in" critical nutrients dropped from 70.8% before the law to 52.5% after the implementation of the final phase. The most drastic reductions were observed in sodium and total sugar content.
Regarding sugar, the decrease was widespread across almost all sweet categories. Notable reductions were found in sweet spreads (such as jams and creams), with a drop of 44.3 percentage points, and breakfast cereals, with a decrease of 40.4 percentage points. Sodium also saw significant declines in savory products, particularly in baked goods (-40.4 percentage points) and non-processed meats (-38.9 percentage points).
While changes in saturated fats and energy were less consistent across categories, important improvements were recorded in key sectors such as snacks, nuts, and cereals. The analysis demonstrated a shift in the distribution of nutritional content toward lower levels, confirming that the industry adjusted its recipes to avoid the warning seals.
Public health relevance
According to the authors, these findings demonstrate that the design of the Chilean law—based on a gradual implementation with increasingly demanding limits—was effective in incentivizing continuous improvement in the nutritional quality of the food supply. “The evidence suggests that the industry did not only respond to the initial phase but continued to reformulate its products to comply with the final standards of 2019 and 2020,” confirmed Dr. Rebolledo.
Dr. Camila Corvalán and the research team highlight that this study is fundamental to understanding how environmental regulations can transform the food environment. This work is especially relevant given the leading role that INTA, through CIAPEC, has played in both the design and the constant scientific evaluation of this public policy.
“By focusing on top-selling products, the research captures changes in foods that are effectively part of the daily diet of Chileans, which has a direct and potential impact on the metabolism and health of the population in the long term,” concluded Dr. Corvalán.
This work by CIAPEC-INTA reinforces the importance of maintaining robust, evidence-based regulatory policies to face contemporary nutritional challenges, once again positioning Chile as an international benchmark in the evaluation of successful food policies.
Since the reduction of total sugars was massive, was a compensatory increase in the use of non-nutritive sweeteners observed in these same products?
Yes, an increase in the use of non-nutritive sweeteners was observed in sweet packaged products. So far, we have analyzed the initial phase of the labeling law and observed that the prevalence of sweetener use increased from 37.9% to 43.6%. Among the types of sweeteners, the use of sucralose and stevia increased. For more details, you can review this article by Dr. Camila Zancheta: https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/nutrition/articles/10.3389/fnut.2021.773450/full
Is there evidence that some companies decided to withdraw products from the market rather than reformulate them to avoid the seals?
Yes, there are some documented cases. For example, Kinder Surprise eggs were withdrawn from the market because the regulations prohibit products with warning seals from including toys or other marketing elements directed at children under 14. More generally, the candy and chocolate category tended not to reformulate.
Publication Information
DOI: 10.1186/s12916-025-03878-6
Download Link (Open Access): BMC Medicine - Full Text
