Chile has undergone major demographic, epidemiological, and nutrition transitions over the past 50 years and currently has the highest prevalence of obesity in Latin America. Non-communicable diseases account for 83% of all deaths in Chile, for which over-nutrition and obesity are both major determinants. Massive increases in consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs) has helped fuel these trends. From 2009–2014, Chile saw the fastest absolute growth of SSB sales in the world, and in 2014, Chile had the highest per-person daily calories sold from SSBs in the world. To combat these trends, Chile has implemented the most comprehensive set of obesity-preventive regulations to date in the world, including a sugary drink tax, a front-of-package warning label system, and restrictions on marketing and advertising of unhealthy foods and drinks. Staggered implementation of these regulations across four years allows us to evaluate the policies’ independent and joint impacts.
Our evaluations to date: In collaboration with our research partners in Chile, we have evaluated early impacts of the Chilean sugary drink tax and Phase 1 of the Law of Nutritional Composition of Food and Advertising and its combined warning label, marketing restriction, and school sales policies. Early data indicate that within the first year of implementation, these policies were already impacting the foods and drinks Chileans buy and consume as well as the public’s perceptions of junk foods targeted by the policies.
We will continue our work in Chile through 2023 in order to evaluate all three phases of the Law of Nutritional Composition of Food and Advertising.
Policies
Ley 20.780 | Implemented October 1, 2014
Beverage tax law
For all non-alcoholic drinks with with coloring, flavoring, or caloric sweeteners:
- 18% ad valorem tax on drinks containing >6.25 g sugar/100 mL (5% increase from previous rate of 13%)
- 10% ad valorem tax on drinks with ≤6.25 g sugar/100 mL (3% decrease from previous rate of 13%)
Exempt: 100% fruit juice and dairy-based beverages
Ley 20.606 | Implemented June 27, 2016
Law of Food Labeling and Advertising
This law introduced mandatory front-of package labeling, marketing restrictions, and school sales/marketing policies, which all use same nutrient profiling model to identify which products are subject to regulation. Packaged food and beverage products containing added sugars, sodium, or saturated fat and exceeding set thresholds for content of total sugar, sodium, saturated fat, or overall calories are considered “high in” products subject to all regulations. The law was implemented in three phases (in June of 2016, 2018, and 2019) with increasingly strict nutrient thresholds.
- Front-of-package warning labels: “High in” products must carry black octagon “stop sign” octagonal warning labels for each nutrient in excess of thresholds (calories, sugar, saturated fat, and/or sodium). Products with a “high in” warning label for a given nutrient/calories cannot carry a health/nutrient claim related to that nutrient (or calorie content).
- Marketing restrictions: “High in” products may not use child-directed marketing strategies or appeals in any media/marketing (including use of brand characters on packaging);
- School sales & marketing: “High in” products cannot be marketed, sold, or offered for free at kiosks, cafeterias, and feeding programs at schools and nurseries.
In-Country Research Partner
In-Country Team Leads
- Camila Corvalán Aguilar - Co-PI, Assistant Professor, INTA, University of Chile
- Marcela Reyes - Co-PI, Assistant Professor, INTA, University of Chile
- Teresa Correa - Assistant Professor, Universidad Diego Portales
GFRP Team Leads
Resources
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Global maps showing mandatory and voluntary front-of-package labeling schemes used in countries around the world. Includes map highlighting countries with front-of-package warning label policies.
Updated July 2022July 2022 addition: Canada (mandatory warning label law passed)
February 2022 additions: Argentina (mandatory warning label law passed); Singapore (hybrid mandatory/voluntary Nutri-Grade label passed); Venezuela (mandatory octagonal warning label passed); existing voluntary labels in China, Indonesia, South Africa, Zambia, Zimbabwe
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Restrictions on marketing food to children
Global map showing countries with national-level, mandatory regulations related to food and beverage marketing to children. This resource also includes a chart comparing policy coverage across countries and more detailed description of limits on TV advertising.
Updated May 2022 -
Global maps showing countries and smaller jurisdictions with taxes on sugary beverages that were implemented with a goal of curbing sugar consumption and improving public health. Included are brief descriptions of each tax structure and dates of passage or implementation.
Updated May 2022May 2022: Updated Barbados tax (doubled to 20% in April 2022)
February 2022: Added Israel and Nigeria (newly implemented); Cook Islands, French Polynesia, Marshall Islands, New Caledonia, Niue, Northern Mariana Islands, Tuvalu, and Wallis and Futuna (existing, newly added)
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Marketing for unhealthy foods and drinks
Fact sheet describing the prevalence and persuasive nature of junk food marketing and its impact on children and adolescents. Learn how unhealthy food marketing contributes to global childhood obesity and about recommendations for regulations to limit its harms.
Updated May 2022
Publications
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Why don’t you [government] help us make healthier foods more affordable instead of bombarding us with labels? Maternal knowledge, perceptions, and practices after full implementation of the Chilean food labelling law
Authors: Teresa Correa, Camila Fierro, Marcela Reyes, Lindsey Smith Taillie, Francesca Renee Dillman Carpentier, Camila Corvalán
Published in: International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, April 9, 2022 view full text -
Changes in nonnutritive sweetener intake in a cohort of preschoolers after the implementation of Chile's Law of Food Labelling and Advertising
Authors: Natalia Rebolledo, Marcela Reyes, Barry M. Popkin, Linda Adair, Christy L. Avery, Camila Corvalán, Shu Wen Ng, Lindsey Smith Taillie
Published in: Pediatric Obesity, January 27, 2022 view full text -
Front-of-pack labeling in Chile: Effects on employment, real wages, and firms’ profits after three years of its implementation
Authors: Guillermo Paraje, Daniela Montes de Oca, Juan Marcos Wlasiuk, Mario Canales, Barry M. Popkin
Published in: Nutrients, January 11, 2022 view full text -
The impacts on food purchases and tax revenues of a tax based on Chile’s nutrient profiling model
Authors: M. Arantxa Colchero, Guillermo Paraje, Barry M. Popkin
Published in: PLOS ONE, December 2, 2021 view full text -
Changes in the use of nonnutritive sweeteners in the Chilean food and beverage supply after the implementation of the Food Labeling and Advertising Law
Authors: Camila Zancheta Ricardo, Camila Corvalán, Lindsey Smith Taillie, Vilma Quitral, Marcela Reyes
Published in: Frontiers in Nutrition, November 8, 2021 view full text -
Changes in the use of nonnutritive sweeteners in the Chilean food and beverage supply after the implementation of the Food Labeling and Advertising Law
Authors: Ricardo C. Zancheta, Camila Corvalán, Lindsey Smith Taillie, Vilma Quitral, and Marcela Reyes
Published in: Frontiers in Nutrition | Nutrition and Food Science Technology, November 8, 2021 view full text -
Television viewing and using screens while eating: Associations with dietary intake in children and adolescents
Authors: Melissa L. Jensen, Francesca R. Dillman Carpentier, Camila Corvalán, Barry M. Popkin, Kelly R. Evenson, Linda Adair, Lindsey Smith Taillie
Published in: Appetite, September 1, 2021 view full text -
Changes in food purchases after the Chilean policies on food labelling, marketing, and sales in schools: a before and after study
Authors: Lindsey Smith Taillie, Maxime Bercholz, Barry M. Popkin, Marcela Reyes, M. Arantxa Colchero, Camila Corvalán
Published in: The Lancet Planetary Health, August 1, 2021 view full text -
Impact of warning labels on reducing health halo effects of nutrient content claims on breakfast cereal packages: A mixed-measures experiment
Authors: Fernanda Mediano Stoltze, Emily A. Busey, Lindsey Smith Taillie, Francesca Dillman Carpentier
Published in: Appetite, August 1, 2021 view full text -
TV advertising and dietary intake in adolescents: A pre-and post-study of Chile’s Food Marketing Policy
Authors: Melissa L. Jensen, Francesca R. Dillman Carpentier, Linda Adair, Camila Corvalán, Barry M. Popkin, and Lindsey Smith Taillie
Published in: International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity, May 4, 2021 view full text -
The effects of the Chilean food policy package on aggregate employment and real wages
Authors: Guillermo Paraje, Arantxa Colchero, Juan Marcos Wlasiuk, Antonio Martner Sota, Barry M. Popkin
Published in: Food Policy, April 1, 2021 view full text