Argentina’s Government Moves to Repeal Front-Of-Pack Labeling Law

Argentina's Executive branch has submitted a bill to the National Congress seeking to fully repeal the country's Healthy Eating Promotion Law (Law No. 27,642), widely known as the Front Labeling Law. The bill entered the Senate on May 22, 2026.

If passed, the repeal would eliminate the black warning octagons currently required on food packaging, along with restrictions on advertising, rules tied to school environments, and bans on using children's characters on product packaging.

Why the Government Wants the Law Gone

The administration laid out several reasons for scrapping the law.

No international consensus on labeling. The government points out that there is no single global standard for front-of-pack labeling, and says it would prefer to adopt a less restrictive system.

One-size-fits-all nutritional criteria. According to the bill, the law applies the same nutrient profile standards to all foods regardless of their differences. It does not account for nutritional density, how processed a food is, how much people actually eat in a serving, or the role a food plays in a broader diet. The result, the government argues, is that traditional foods considered culturally and nutritionally acceptable end up carrying the same warnings as far less nutritious products.

Potential to mislead consumers. Rather than helping shoppers make informed choices, the government contends the current labeling system can lead to oversimplified or inaccurate conclusions about a food's overall nutritional value.

Flawed calculation methods. The law bases its thresholds on percentages of total energy contribution, which the government says can produce technically inconsistent or exaggerated results in certain cases.

No incentive to improve products. Because the warning system is binary — a product either gets a black octagon or it does not — manufacturers have little reason to make partial improvements to their recipes. A slightly healthier product still receives the same warning as one that has not been reformulated at all.

Overlap with existing Mercosur regulations. Argentina already participates in a mandatory regional nutrition labeling system under Mercosur, which requires declaring energy values, sugars, fats, proteins, sodium, and other components. The government argues that running a separate front-of-pack system on top of this creates regulatory duplication and added complexity for enforcement.

Disproportionate burden on small businesses. The administration says the law's requirements hit small and medium-sized enterprises hardest. Costs associated with redesigning packaging, adapting production lines, managing existing stock, and conducting technical evaluations are proportionally much higher for smaller companies. The government warns this could push the market toward greater concentration in favor of large corporations better equipped to absorb compliance costs.

Uneven enforcement across provinces. Key parts of the law, particularly those related to school food environments and public food procurement, depend on action by Argentina's provinces and the City of Buenos Aires. The government notes that implementation has been inconsistent across different jurisdictions.

Too rigid to adapt. The bill criticizes the law for embedding highly technical and methodological details directly into the legal text, rather than leaving them to regulation. This, the government argues, makes it difficult to update the system as scientific understanding evolves, dietary guidelines change, or regional harmonization efforts advance.

Restrictions on advertising go too far. The government maintains that the law's limits on advertising, commercial communication, and the use of graphic elements on packaging impose significant constraints on lawful business activities. The bill argues that any such restrictions must meet standards of reasonableness and proportionality, and that less restrictive alternatives should be considered to achieve public health goals without unduly burdening the food industry.

What Stays in Place

Despite seeking a full repeal, the government has emphasized that companies will still be required to report the nutritional composition of packaged foods. Those obligations remain in force under the Argentine Food Code and existing complementary regulations. Rather than warning labels, the administration says it wants to move toward what it describes as a more accurate, context-sensitive, and scientifically grounded nutrition information system, with a focus on food education.

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