CONTENTS AND FREQUENCY OF FRONTAL NUTRITIONAL LABELING FOR SATURATED FAT AND SODIUM IN MEAT PRODUCTS IN THE PERI AND POST IMPLEMENTATION PERIODS OF THE NEW NUTRITIONAL LABELING LEGISLATION IN BRAZIL

In 2020, Front-of-Store Nutrition Labeling (FPN) was implemented in Brazil through RDC429/2020 and IN75/2020, providing simpler information to consumers and facilitating healthier choices. These laws establish limits for nutrients of importance to public health: added sugars, saturated fat, and sodium, and the presence of FPN on labels is mandatory when these limits are reached or exceeded. The meat product category was analyzed due to the frequent presence of saturated fat and sodium in the nutritional composition of these foods. The objective of this study was to analyze the saturated fat and sodium contents and the frequency of FPN for these nutrients in meat products, in the peri- and post-implementation periods of FPN in Brazil. This is a longitudinal study, carried out between March-May/2021 and January-March/2024. Samples were obtained from three supermarket chains located in Belo Horizonte-MG and the metropolitan region, with the help of the Epicollect5 application. The following data were recorded: bar code, net weight, sales name, brand name, nutritional information table, NFR and list of ingredients. The information was transferred to Excel spreadsheets and statistical analyses were performed using SPSS software. The Wilcoxon test assessed differences in nutrient content and the McNemar test assessed differences in the frequency of NFR. A total of 67 products were collected. The majority (n=20;30%) were composed of “tuna, sardines, fish, shellfish, other canned fish with or without sauces”, followed by “sausage, hot dogs, all types” (n=16;24%) and “meat preparations with flour or breaded” (n=8;12%). In 2021, the median for saturated fat was 3.4 g (IQR = 1.3-6.0) and in 2024 it was 3.7 g (IQR = 2.0-5.9) (p = 0.089). For sodium, the median was 540 mg (IQR = 385.0-869.76), in 2021, and 569 mg (IQR = 474.0-923.0), in 2024 (p = 0.163). Regarding the frequency of RNF, in 2021, 17% (n = 11) of the products would have RNF for saturated fat, compared to 15% (n = 10) in 2024 (p = 0.687). For sodium, in the peri-implementation period, 28% (n=19) of the products should receive RNF and, in 2024, 24% (n=16) (p=0.388) of the products. The results show that there were no significant changes in the saturated fat and sodium contents, as well as in the frequency of RNF for these nutrients. It is concluded that there was possibly difficulty in reformulating the evaluated products. In addition, analyses by food subcategories in the “meat products” group are relevant to better understand the reformulation scenario, in the peri- and post-implementation periods of the new Brazilian Nutritional Labeling legislation.