Facing similar issues to its neighboring countries of rising overweight and obesity rates and shifts in eating patterns towards more sugary drinks and ultra-processed foods, Peru has implemented a set of policies to combat these trends: a sugary drink tax and mandatory front-of-package warning label system (modeled after the Chilean label).
Our evaluation work began before the law was implemented and will continue for 3 years. Our evaluation work has five components to examine:
- Implementation of the FOP warning labels law in Peru. We will use qualitative interviews with key stakeholders to highlight the key facilitators and barriers of the FOP law implementation;
- Changes in the healthfulness of the food supply following introduction of FOP warning labels;
- Changes in mothers’ attitudes towards, knowledge about, and perceptions of unhealthy and healthy foods along with their awareness and usage of FOP warning labels in urban and rural areas;
- Changes in household food purchases of regulated (ie, with warning labels on packages) and unregulated foods and beverages after introduction of the FOP warning labels law, overall and by socio-economic status; and
- Changes in taxed and untaxed beverage purchases after the SSB tax, overall and by socio-economic status. This evaluation will look at both the 2018-19 SSB tax shift and the additional changes implemented in 2019.
Policy Research
Policies
Supreme Decree 091-2018-EF | Implemented May 1, 2018
Supreme Decree 091-2018-EF
Prior to May 2018, Peru taxed all beverages with added sugar, sweeteners, or flavorings at a rate of 17%. Beginning May 2018, the tax was increased to 25% for drinks containing >6 grams total sugar per 100 mL, while all other drinks with added sugar/sweeteners/flavorings (containing <6 g sugar/100 mL) remained at the 17% tax rate.
In June 2019, Peru modified the tax again by decreasing the rate on drinks containing <0.5 g sugar/100 mL to 12%, while drinks containing 0.5–6 g/100 mL remained at the 17% rate. Plain water, 100% juices, plain milk, and drinkable yogurts were always and remain untaxed.
In September 2021, the upper sugar threshold was lowered from 6 grams to 5 grams per 100 mL (Supreme Decree No. 266-2021-EF). This brought the sugar threshold in alignment with the final "high in sugar" threshold for beverages under Peru's front-of-package warning label law.
Currently, processed beverages with added sugar, sweeteners, or flavoring are taxed at one of three levels:
- 25% ad valorem tax on drinks containing >5 g sugar/100 mL (increase from 17% rate)
- 17% ad valorem tax on drinks containing 0.5–5 g sugar/100 mL
- 12% ad valorem tax on drinks containing <0.5 g sugar/100 mL (decrease from 17%)
Exempt: Plain water, 100% juice, plain milk, and drinkable yogurts
Read law in: English, 2018 | English, 2019 | Spanish, 2021 update
Law on the Promotion of a Healthy Diet (Law 30021 / Supreme Decree No. 012-2018-SA) | Implemented June 1, 2019
Decree on Health Warnings on the Promotion of Healthy Eating among Children and Adolescents
- Front-of-package warning labels: Processed foods and beverages with total sugar, saturated fat, or sodium content exceeding set thresholds and/or containing any added trans fats must carry black octagon “stop sign” warning labels for each nutrient in excess of thresholds.
- Inclusion of warnings in other media:
- Ads with fixed and moving images will carry warnings.
- Radio and audiovisual media: warnings must be clearly, prominently and understandably recorded.
In-Country Research Partner
In-Country Team Leads
- Jaime Miranda - Director, PI, CRONICAS, Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia
- Francisco Diez-Canseco - Associate Investigator, Co-PI, CRONICAS, Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia
- Lorena Maria Saavedra Garcia - Project Coordinator, CRONICAS, Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia
GFRP Team Leads
Resources
-
Letter of global support for Peruvian front-of-package labeling regulations
November 2017 (also available in Spanish)
Publications
-
Design and approval of the nutritional warnings policy in Peru: Milestones, key stakeholders, and policy drivers for its approval
Authors: Francisco Diez-Canseco, Victoria Cavero, Juan Alvarez Cano, Lorena Saavedra-Garcia, Lindsey Smith Taillie, Francesca R. Dillman Carpentier, J. Jaime Miranda
Published in: PLOS Global Public Health, June 16, 2023 view full text -
Employment and wage effects of sugar-sweetened beverage taxes and front-of-package warning label regulations on the food and beverage industry: Evidence from Peru
Authors: Juan-José Díaz, Alan Sánchez, Francisco Diez-Canseco, J. Jaime Miranda, Barry
M. Popkin
Published in: Food Policy, January 20, 2023 view full text -
Reformulation of top-selling processed and ultra-processed foods and beverages in the Peruvian food supply after front-of-package warning label policy
Authors: Lorena Saavedra-Garcia, Mayra Meza-Hernández, Francisco Diez-Canseco, Lindsey Smith Taillie
Published in: International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, December 27, 2022 view full text -
Sugar-sweetened beverage purchases in urban Peru before the implementation of taxation and warning label policies: a baseline study
Authors: Caitlin M. Lowery, Lorena Saavedra-Garcia, Francisco Diez-Canseco, María Kathia Cárdenas, J. Jaime Miranda, Lindsey Smith Taillie
Published in: BMC Public Health, December 20, 2022 view full text -
A research agenda to guide progress on childhood obesity prevention in Latin America
Authors: Kline L, Jones-Smith J, Jaime Miranda J, Pratt M, Reis RS, Juan A. Rivera, Sallis JF, Barry M. Popkin.
Published in: Obesity Reviews, July 2017 view full text -
Nutrition status of children in Latin America
Authors: Corvalán C, Garmendia ML, Jones-Smith J, Lutter CK, Miranda JJ, Lilia S. Pedraza, Barry M. Popkin, Ramirez-Zea M, Salvo D, Stein AD.
Published in: Obesity Reviews, July 2017 view full text