1. On March 28, 2022, the Deputy Minister of Public Health published as an achievement on his personal Twitter account, the approval of the Frontal Warning Labeling adopted by Resolution 810 of 2021 of the Ministry of Health. Such labeling has a circular shape, following the parameters adopted by the State of Israel. However, the form adopted in the aforementioned resolution does not reflect the best scientific evidence, and coincides with the proposals publicly defended by the ultra-processed food and sweetened beverages industry.

2. Law 2120, better known as the “junk food law”, (or “ley comida chatarra), gives the Ministry of Health a 12-month deadline to implement a frontal warning label according to the best scientific evidence, without conflict of interest. However, eight months after the enactment of Law 2021, the Vice Minister is not complying with the provisions of the law.  In response to a right of petition sent by the Lawyers Collective José Alvear Restrepo, the Ministry stated that an “open merit competition” process is underway, and that it was working on “(…) the preparation of previous studies and analysis of the sector to have the necessary documentation to start the selection process of the contractor, therefore, the completion of the study has not yet begun”.  

3. Therefore, the ministry has not initiated a study free of conflict of interest to achieve the objective for Colombians, to have a warning seal that protects the right to health, as required by law. In spite of the Vice Minister’s announcements in social networks, so far it is not possible to speak of a genuine compliance with the law.  

The policy of warning labeling with the best available scientific evidence and free of conflict of interest is still under review.