Short report Choices workshop at SLAN

December 7th, 2012

The Latin American Congress of Nutrition (SLAN) was held from 12 to 16 November 2012 in Cuba, with more than 1300 nutrition experts present.

Here, the Choices International Foundation organised a workshop to discuss developments and perspectives in nutrient profiling and food labelling in four major Latin American countries – Brazil, Mexico, Chile and Argentina. As underlined by a study from Mexico’s National Institute of Public Health, the criteria and framework of the Choices Programme are very helpful in shaping policies in these areas. Indeed, the criteria for nutrient profiling in Mexico and Brazil are quite similar to those of the Choices Programme, while Argentina makes full use of these criteria.

During the workshop, which was attended by more than one hundred experts, scientists from the four countries underlined that nutrition scientists and governmental experts are actively discussing what can be done to fight obesity. As Ricardo Uauy, Chairman of Choices’ Latin American Scientific Committee, stated “nutritionists cannot be content with simply going from one congress to another and must actively fight the obesity epidemic affecting our continent. To do so, we need to focus our efforts on food reformulation and labelling”.

The workshop ended with the objective of deepening cooperation and support among Latin American countries so that international trade can continue to thrive. Argentina and Mexico have already taken measures in this direction. In her final comments, Dr. Branka Legetic from the Pan-American Health Organization (PAHO) also underlined the importance of nutrient profiling in the overall enhancement of nutrition, showcasing the Choices Programme as one of the profiling systems analysed and validated.