Mexico has seized 380,000 boxes of Kellogg’s cereals. The news was first reported by AP who said that officials had raided a warehouse north of Mexico City. They raided 75 stores and took away several batches of Kellogg’s products including Corn Flakes and Special K. The officials said that the cartons showing cartoons broke recent laws by that were passed in the country. These laws have been passed to safeguard the health of children.
AP reported that cartoon and mascots depicted on the boxes went against laws that were passed to improve the diet of children. It also said that the cereal boxes may not have high sugar content but their marketing ploy of depicting cartoons went against the law in Mexico.
According to a report in The Guardian, Oaxaca, a state in Mexico brought in measures to control the obesity crisis that lead to an increased number of deaths due to COVID-19. This lead to a change in laws and bans on sales of drinks with high amounts of sugar as well as high calorie snacks for children. Breaking these rules could result not only in fines but also could lead to closure of stores carrying such items.
In a 2020 study, it was reported that the percentage of Mexicans who were considered to be overweight was roughly 73 percent. According to Remezcla, an independent media brand, the World Health Organization noted that Mexico had the highest level of both overweight and obese children in the world.
Mexico’s consumer protection agency also told AP on Friday that the boxes that had been seized in the raid did not mention nutritional information such as calories, fats, salt and sugar or ithey did not mention levels of those ingredients that could be considered “excessive.”
It is mandatory for almost all countries in the world to state nutritional information and more about the contents in processed and packaged foods.
When asked for comment by several outlets, Kellogg’s has not responded, as yet.
