The Central American Parliament (PARLACEN) inaugurated in the Dominican Republic the First National Forum on Front Labeling of Foods with Nutritional Warning with a view to providing healthy diets.
The event, held this Friday in person and virtually, seeks to promote high-level dialogue spaces between the various sectors linked to the Food Safety and Nutrition, taking reference to the Chilean experience on the Law of Front Labeling of food and advertising.
It was explained that the idea of the forum is to promote legal and regulatory frameworks that favor physical and economic access to healthy and sustainable diets.
The meeting was opened by the president of the PARLACEN, Nicaraguan Congressman Guillermo Daniel Ortega Reyes, who highlighted the importance of the event.
It was also attended by the Vice President of the Republic, Raquel Peña; the president of the Senate, Eduardo Estrella, Eduardo Estrella; the vice president of the regional forum for the State of the Dominican Republic, Franklin de la Cruz, and the secretary of the organism, the deputy Rosy Solís.
The Representative of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) in the Dominican Republic, Rodrigo Castañeda; the former director of the National Institute for the Protection of Consumer Rights (Pro Consumidor) and the president of the National Observatory for Consumer Protection (ONPECO), Altagracia Paulino; the deputy before the National Congress, Shoraya Suárez, among other personalities.
Franklin de la Cruz
The vice president of PARLACEN for the State of the Dominican Republic, Franklin de la Cruz, valued the importance of labeling, which in his opinion allows consumers to know the food, its origin and the ingredients of the diet, as well as having visible the levels of fat, protein or sugar in food.
De la Cruz said that the Central American Parliament seeks to promote healthy and safe food in the countries of the region.
“With this forum we seek to ensure that the food that the population buys contributes to people’s health in the face of food insecurity in the countries of Central America, the Dominican Republic and other nations of the world,” added the vice president of PARLACEN.
Altagracia Paulino
On her side, the president of ONPECO, Altagracia Paulino welcomed the first forum on labeling held, raised the need to have the necessary and transparent information through front labeling on food nutrients.
He pointed out that the right to health is vital and the scarce information on the components of food causes severe damage to people’s health, “so front labeling is a correct demand with the information to know about the nutritional content, to contribute to a good nutritional diet of the population ”.
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Rodrigo Castañeda
The FAO representative in the Dominican Republic presented dramatic figures on the increase in hunger in the region, which leaves 59 million people suffering from this scourge, with women being the most affected.
He invited government authorities, civil society, NGOs in conjunction with FAO to discuss a comprehensive agenda to create healthy environments.
