Support High End Front Of Package Labelling Now You Could Save Many Lives!

No Buy Puss Eena Bag

Dr. Andrene Chung
Consultant Cardiologist,
Chair
Heart Foundation
of Jamaica.

You might have heard the saying, 'No buy “puss eena bag!” and therefore you should ask yourself if it is a wise idea to buy puss eena bag. When we go to the supermarkets, the fast food restaurants, the corner shops and the street vendors, do we stop to see what we are buying? Do we look at the labels and if we do, do we understand what is written on these labels? Do you understand what is a serving? Are you able to understand how to calculate how much magnesium, calcium and other nutrients per serving to find out if you are  consuming the required amount of nutrients? Do you know what is the definition of a serving, a portion, sodium or trans-fat? Very few of us would be able to answer these questions and that is why it is important for regulations to be put in place to make it easier for consumers to make decision on what to include in their diet.

I am confused by this label.

The Winning Front of Package Labels

Deborah Chen
Executive Director
Heart Foundation
of Jamaica

That is why the Heart Foundation of Jamaica with its Chair, Dr. Andrene Chung and it's Executive Director Deborah Chen, is now on a drive to convince the government to put in place a simple and effective system which will assist consumers to choose foods that have nutrients that are beneficial to them - foods which do not contain too much of any ingredients such as salt, fats and sugar. 

The Heart Foundation of Jamaica wants the government to put in place, a system which will allow each consumer to be able to look at the label of a product and be able to make a decision which is right for that consumer. There should be no need for that consumer to take out a calculator and calculate how much grams of the various nutrients there are in the product in order to make a decision. 

Many items that we purchase, have a significant amount of trans fats, saturated fats, added sugars and sodium/salt which can lead to obesity and which might eventually end up with us having diabetes (some call it sugar), heart disease, hypertension or high blood pressure for example. You will notice that more Jamaicans are getting fat these days and this is not the look of prosperity, but the look of trouble ahead.  We call that trouble, non-communicable disease (NCDs).

Need to Reduce Intake of Too Much Unhealthy Foods

The World Health Organization and our own Ministry of Health and Wellness have been advising us to reduce the amount of unhealthy foods that we consume in order to reduce the level of obesity and NCDs. The solution to all of this is to implement a simple system to help us to make a decision quickly in terms of what we purchase to eat. The Heart Foundation of Jamaica is supporting the move to implement Front Of Package Warning Labels (FOPWL). This symbol on the front of food labels will indicate to us what is unhealthy about some foods that we are about to purchase.

Where are we?

The Caribbean, which includes our country Jamaica, has no regulation which states what nutritional facts must be indicated on the labels of food products. Consumers are therefore not benefitting from such laws at this time.  However, in July 2016, CARICOM Heads of Government decided on the need to make nutritional labelling among other actions such as reducing the marketing of foods to children, mandatory. 

Some Jamaican organizations have taken the lead to advocate for healthy food policies and, one such organization is the Heart Foundation of Jamaica (HFJ). There has been some achievements in terms of improving the Caribbean population health, but it seems as if some things have made a turn for the worse.

On March 30, 2021, the voting for Jamaica took place, and the majority of the stakeholder representatives I am told, voted in favour of the 'High In' Black Octagonal Model of FOPWL to be used on food packages. This 'High In Black Octagonal Model has been used by other countries such as Chile, Mexico, Peru and Uruguay. It’s a simple black octagon that shows when saturated fats, trans fats, sodium/salt and sugar are contained in high amounts in food and beverage products. (See Image 1.)

Regional studies have shown that this model is most effective in helping consumers to make healthier choices when buying foods. A local study by the Pan American Health Organization, Jamaica's Ministry of Health and Wellness and the University of Technology, Jamaica, compared different models of front of package labelling and this black octagonal model was the most effective for our Jamaican people in:

• Helping them to select healthier food options.
• Helping them to understand when a product has too much sodium/salt, sugars and unhealthy fats.
• Helping them to identify which food and beverages are the least harmful.

The Benefits

The following are the benefits of the proposed Front of Package Labels are as follows:

• Nutrition labelling is not mandated by law and this move would benefit consumers.
• This model is easily understood by the consumers.
• There is no need for the consumer to do any calculations of the nutrients in the product.
• There is no need to interpret the labels.
• It makes it easier for the consumer to make wise food choices which will result in lower health bills for the country. This could result in .foreign exchange savings.

We encourage consumers to support the move for the 'High In' Front of Package Warning Labels. It might not be in the interest of the manufactures in the short term, but it will be in the interest of  all, in the long term. Eating wisely means less medical bills and therefore more funds will be available for purchasing other goods especially those made locally.

Support a healthy Jamaica, support healthy eating habits, support the 'High In' Black Octagonal Model of FOPWL, and support the move to eat Less Sugar, Less High Fats, Less High In Saturated Fats, Less High In Trans Fats, Less High In Sodium food and reduce the high incidence of non-communicable disease such as hypertension, diabetes and heart disease.

Image 1

More Readings:

• Dr. Andrene Chung, Consultant Cardiologist and Chair of the Heart Foundation of Jamaica.
• Christopher Tufton - front of package labels.
• JMEA on front of page package labels.
• Richard Pandohie and the JMEA.
• Antoya G. Cassels.
• Front of package labelling research.

Note: 

• Thanks to the Heart Foundation of Jamaica for providing some of the material for this blog.
• Show your support by adding your comments below.

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Click HERE in order to register and to get future blogs, Share this article with especially your friends and relatives who have diabetes, suffer from hypertension and heart disease.  Encourage them to join this movement for 'High In' Front of Package Warning Labels. They will appreciate your gesture.