September 29, 2020

On March 27, 2020, the government of Mexico issued an Amendment to the Mexican Official Standard (Norma Official Mexicana) NOM-051-SCFI/SSA1-2010: General specifications for the labelling of pre-packaged food and non-alcoholic beverages (NOM-051), finalizing the regulation that was proposed in October 2019. The new regulation includes several modifications to existing labeling requirements, including new front-of-pack warning signs for high levels of salt, sugar, fat (saturated and trans), and calories in food products.

USDEC has drafted a Questions & Answers (Q&A) document, in order to assist our members to understand and fully comply with this relevant regulation, throughout its implementation process. The Q&A document also includes a Glossary of Terms (Annex A), a list of Abbreviations and Acronyms (Annex B), and a list of Cheese Names (Annex C).

Click here to read an English translation of NOM-051, where the NOT amended text from the 2010 version is indicated in LIGHT GREY HIGHLIGHT.

Note: The government of Mexico has recently agreed to provide a 60-day non-enforcement "grace period" from October 1-November 30, 2020. During this period, producers, importers, and marketers will not be penalized for non-compliance of products subject to NOM-51 Front of Pack (FOP) labeling requirements that were in-country (imported) before October 1, 2020.  Products that were in-country before October 1, may be marketed and sold to the final consumer without being subject to non-compliance sanctions.

However, imported products that arrive on or after October 1, 2020 must comply with NOM-051 and the corresponding FOP warnings and precautionary claims at the point of sale (stickers). For questions, please contact Oscar Ferrara at oferrara@usdec.org