El Poder del Consumidor Calls for Stricter Food Labeling Rules

El Poder del Consumidor has exposed that various food companies have taken advantage of gaps in existing regulations to hide nutritional information from consumers, using illegible warning labels and placing front-of-pack octagons on less visible areas of packaging.

The NGO reported that some of the problematic practices identified include using extremely small, illegible font sizes in ingredient warning statements, such as those indicating the presence of caffeine and sweeteners. Moreover, companies are also placing front-of-pack warning octagons on side or back panels of packaging, preventing consumers from directly and clearly identifying health-related warnings meant to protect them.

El Poder del Consumidor acknowledges that the front-of-pack warning labeling system, adopted five years ago, has had a significant impact on changing the population’s eating habits, leading to a reduction in the consumption of added sugars, saturated fats, trans fats, sodium, and processed and ultra-processed products. However, the NGO warns that harmful industry practices persist and require greater government attention.

Ana Larrañaga, Researcher in the Food Health Area, El Poder del Consumidor, stated that the organization has already presented concrete evidence to the authorities on how to improve this situation, but so far, their requests have been ignored. “We need a transparent regulatory improvement process that is open to evidence-based discussions in order to truly strengthen labeling,” she said.

According to the NGO, other Latin American countries, such as Argentina and Colombia, have strengthened their labeling systems with specific provisions on label size and placement to ensure clarity, visibility, and legibility. These regulatory improvements could have been adopted by Mexican authorities, but, according to the organization, during the review process of NOM-051, no such enhancements were considered. 

El Poder del Consumidor announced it will file an injunction against the 2025 update process of NOM-051. Katia García, Nutrition Professor and Researcher, Universidad Autonoma de la Ciudad de Mexico (UACM), highlighted that the 2025 NOM revision process had serious inconsistencies compared to the 2019 modification. She emphasized the lack of genuine spaces for reviewing the regulation within working groups and the authorities’ disregard for repeated requests from stakeholders without conflicts of interest.

Alejandro Calvillo, Director, El Poder del Consumidor, stressed that the use of illegible warnings undermines the core purpose of the regulation, which is to inform consumers, particularly regarding ingredients that are not recommended for children. He added that the industry continues to exploit the lack of specificity within the regulation regarding label size, perpetuating misleading practices.

Front-of-pack labeling in Mexico was first implemented in 2020 with the enforcement of NOM-051, which introduced mandatory warning labels on foods and non-alcoholic beverages. According to the National Health and Nutrition Survey (ENSANUT) and the International Food Policy Study (IFPS), between 2020 and 2025, the adoption of front-of-pack labeling in Mexico increased from 52% to 79% among adults and reached as high as 85% among parents.

In October 2025, the third phase of NOM-051 will come into effect, introducing stricter criteria. This phase is expected to slightly increase the number of products carrying warning labels, particularly for saturated fats and sodium, which could lead to further product reformulations.