Chile Battles Obesity With Stop Signs On Packaged Foods

August 12, 20167:00 AM ET EILEEN SMITH

Extracted from: https://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2016/08/12/486898630/chile-battles-obesity-with-stop-signs-on-packaged-foods

(1) What if you were about to buy some packaged food at a supermarket, newsstand or
vending machine and you noticed a black stop sign staring back at you from the label? On it was a
message from the U.S. Department of Health: This snack is high in sugar, saturated fat, salt or
calories. Would it give you pause? Chile is banking that it will. Sixty-seven percent of people older
than 15 in this South American nation are overweight or obese, according to Chile's Ministerio de
Salud (MINSAL, Ministry of Health). Lorena Rodriguez, head of the Department of Food and
Nutrition, says this number is troubling.
(2) About 50 years ago, Rodriguez says, Chile's biggest nutrition issues were related to
malnutrition. Now its problems are the type associated with nations that, for the most part, do not
experience food insecurity. The ready availability of convenient, packaged food has changed the
country's eating habits. Particularly in the past 20 years, Rodriguez says, the consumption of
packaged food has risen in Chile, across all economic strata and in both rural and urban
populations.
(3) In December, the World Economic Forum reported Chile as the world's largest per-
capita consumer of sugary drinks, at 188 calories per person per day, ahead of Mexico and the
United States, which clock in at 157 and 158 calories, respectively.
(4) In Chile, the most significant chronic, noncontagious public health issues are cardiac
problems, certain cancers — such as stomach and gallbladder — and diabetes. The first two
together cause half of the deaths in Chile, Rodriguez says.
(5) For the past 10 years, Chile has used consumer food labels developed in accordance
with the Codex Alimentarius, a standard set by the World Health Organization and the Food and
Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. But these labels, which are similar to those on
packaged food in the United States, are written in small font and often printed on package seams,
making them difficult to read. Not only that, says Rodriguez, but in Chile, "only 30 percent of
people read the labels, and of those, maybe 30 percent really understand them."
(6) After scientific studies indicated that modifying the purchasing environment could lead
to behavioral changes, MINSAL identified four key nutritional factors in causing lost "health years."
The agency then developed a label to help consumers make quick choices at the supermarket.
After focus studies, the ministry settled on octagonal black labels, printed with the words "alto en"
(high in), plus key nutritional factors for packaged foods that exceed, per 100 grams: 275 calories,
400 milligrams of sodium, 10 grams of sugar or 4 grams of saturated fats.
(7) Why 100 grams [about 3.5 ounces]? Because it's universal. "Portion size is relative and
depends on many factors. But 100 grams is 100 grams," Rodriguez says. She also assures that the
bulk of sodium that Chileans consume, for example, is not from the salt shaker, but from highly
processed foods in which it is used as a flavor enhancer and preservative. These are foods that
people do not even consider salty. "Even sweet, packaged food has salt in it," Rodriguez says, and
many people don't realize what they're ingesting.
(8) The labels are actually just one part of a three-pronged approach set in motion by
a law passed in 2012, though they just started appearing at the end of June. The other two parts
have to do with kids: Black-labeled food cannot be advertised to children under 14 or include toys
(think McDonald's Happy Meals, unless they meet MINSAL's requirements, Rodriguez says), and
they also may not be sold in or near schools.
 (9) It is not the government's intention to regulate the content of food, but to "change the
environment" by informing consumers of the fat, sodium calories and sugar in foods, Rodriguez
says. The new labels are easily visible, and already appear to be changing what people think about
buying. "It takes less than a second to decide to buy something," she says, "The labels had to be
something you could see in that short period of time."
(10) In a supermarket in the neighborhood of República in Santiago Centro, Mabel
Sepúlveda Perez, thinks out loud as she reaches for a jar of mayonnaise. "This one doesn't have,"
she trails off, looking for the black labels. "We try to eat healthy," she says. Her companion,
Patricio Sanchez, points to the shelf and says, "But they're on everything. It's like you can't eat
anything anymore." There's one mayonnaise that isn't labeled, but it isn't the kind they like. He
puts his original choice into their cart.
(11) Many items in the supermarket have black labels: salted peanuts, potato chips, soda,
ketchup, mayonnaise, crackers, all but one breakfast cereal, cream cheese. In the cookie aisle,
every package has at least one label. "I guess it's like the warnings on cigarette packages," Sanchez
says. It's a warning, but in the end, it's up to the consumer.
(12) Nancy Cardénas Luarte runs a freestanding kiosk that sells mostly snacks on the
pedestrian mall of Paseo Huérfanos in downtown Santiago. She says the new labels have not
affected her sales. "Everyone knows these snacks are not healthy. On the weekends, I work at a
food court, and you should see the quantity of french fries people eat. They know they're not
good for them, but they eat them anyway," she says. As to whether the labels will make any
difference, Luarte says: "Maybe for little kids, who are just learning what and how to eat."
(13) And that is one of the main goals of the Ministry of Health: to get school-age children
in on the game. Rodriguez even suggests that peer pressure could play a positive role. In the past,
she says, kids might make fun of the one child who brought a hard-boiled egg as a snack, while
everyone else had cookies. Now they're going to point to the one who has the food with the black
labels, and that's going to have an effect, she says.
(14) But Gastón Gabarró, a father of four, is concerned that now his children will reject
products with sugar in them because they have the label, and choose instead products that have
artificial sweeteners. For example, he thinks parents should have the right to decide between
regular Coca-Cola, which has the label, and Diet Coke, which does not.
(15) But Rodriguez says, "We don't have proof that sweeteners are harmful. We have
proof that sugar is harmful." MINSAL will present its first official evaluation in December, just six
months after the mandatory labeling went into effect. "If the labeling makes things harder to
understand, we'll change it. It's not set in stone," Rodriguez says.
(16) But the ministry is hoping that Chileans will move away from processed food, and
"return to [their] roots, to [their] culture, return to cooking, planning family menus and sharing
responsibilities, including going to their local feria [produce markets] together."

I Multiple Choice. Read the following prompts and choose a, b, c or d. (1 point each; 6 points in
total)

1. From the first two paragraphs, it can be concluded that…

a) malnutrition stopped affecting Chilean population 5 decades ago.
b) most of the nutrition issues Chilean people are facing are related to dietary habits.
c) rural and urban Chilean population stopped cooking healthy food two decades ago.
d) Chilean nutritional issues are closely related to food scarcity.
2. According to the information provided in paragraph 5,
a) labels in food packages are useless because they use a small font.
b) food packages are often labeled in as in USA and people don’t know English.
c) most people read labels in food packages but their font is too small.
d) most people don’t read food package labels, nor do they understand them.

3. In paragraph 7, when Rodríguez states that “But 100 grams is 100 grams,” she means that…
a) this is the right portion for people to consume.
b) this measure is the most popular among consumers.
c) this measure is clear enough and consumers understand it.
d) this portion is easily understood by Spanish speakers.

4. From paragraphs 8 and 9, the reader can assume that these public policies are…
a) meant to change eating habits through the prohibition of damaging food.
b) helping consumers develop a better reading comprehension.
c) trying to change consumers’ ideas about fast and processed foods.
d) meant to produce changes in consumers’ buying and eating habits.

5. According to Nancy Cárdenas Luarte’s testimony (paragraph 12), these new measures…
a) have already increased awareness about processed food.
b) might have a major impact on children’s eating habits.
c) have increased sales of processed food and its consumption.
d) are similar to the effect cigarette warning labels have.

6. From the final paragraph (16), we understand that MINSAL is trying to…
a) produce a cultural change among consumers and food sellers.
b) promote the use of labels on packages of processed food.
c) encourage consumers’ to change their cooking and eating habits.
d) evaluate the impact of labels on the consumption of processed food.

II Comprehension questions. Answer the following questions according to the text. (7 points in
total)

1. Mention two reasons, provided in the text, why MINSAL has decided to label food packages. (1
point each reason, 2 points total)
2. Mention two objectives, provided in the text, MINSAL has for implementing this public policy. (1
point each objective, 2 points total)

3. Why does Patricio Sánchez compare this policy with the labels cigarettes have? (2 points)

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4. What is salt used for in processed food? (1 point)

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III Meaning in context. Find in the text a word that matches the following synonyms. Their
location has been provided. (0.5 point each; 4 points in total)

a) expecting, reckoning, relying on (para. 1) :________________________

b) conditions, positions, levels (para. 2) :________________________

c) appear, arrive, enter (para. 3) :________________________

d) norm, rule, canon (para. 5) :________________________

e) surpass, outdo, overstep (para. 6) :________________________

f) majority, best part, gross (para. 7) :________________________

g) manages, supervises, owns (para. 12) :________________________

h) binding, compulsory, imperative (para. 15) :________________________

IV Referential question. What do these pronouns refer to? (0.5 point each; 3 points in total)

1. What does “them” in paragraph 5, line 5, refer to? __________________________________

2. What does “it” in paragraph 7, line 4, refer to? __________________________________

3. What does “they” in paragraph 8, line 4, refer to? __________________________________

4. What does “they” in paragraph 10, line 4, refer to? __________________________________

5. What does “they” in paragraph 12, line 4, refer to? __________________________________

6. What does “it” in paragraph 15, line 4, refer to? __________________________________