Labels, taxes, and food reformulation: A tale of sugar in carbonated soft drinks in Ecuador

Abstract

Abstract The prevalence of obesity has increased significantly worldwide, including in low- and middle-income countries. In Ecuador, a middle-income country, the government has implemented two policies to improve the quality of its population’s diet: (1) a traffic-light (TL) nutritional labeling requirement for processed foods and (2) a special tax scheme for drinks with a high sugar content (HSC). This study examines changes in carbonated soft drink (CSD) sugar formulation and its associated impacts on sugar consumption after the implementation of these two policies. Sugar content in soft drinks was obtained from the National Agency for Health Regulation, Control, and Surveillance (ARCSA) and directly from the labels of carbonated soft drinks sold in the country. CSD monthly purchase data from January 2013 to December 2019 were obtained from the Kantar World Panel (Ecuador). Mixed reactions followed the introduction of the TL in the sugar content reformulation of CSD. In contrast, the implementation of the HSC tax scheme was followed by extensive efforts to reformulate CSD as all brands studied decreased their sugar content. We also found evidence that CSD consumption reduced significantly after the HSC tax scheme was imposed. Overall, sugar consumption linked to CSD decreased after the implementation of these two policies. Still, most of this decrease is related to reformulation activities observed after the HSC tax scheme was implemented.