Mexico Proposes New Requirements for Placement of Products in Supermarkets

Mexico has announced preliminarily plans to draft a new Official Mexican Standard that would place additional restrictions on the placement of processed food and non-alcoholic beverage products required to carry warning labels in supermarkets and stores.

Domestic and imported prepackaged, processed foods, and non-alcoholic beverages in Mexico are subject to labeling regulations including the Front-of-the-Pack labeling (FOPL) requirements that entered into force on October 1, 2020. More information on these measures can be found here.

According to a preliminary announcement in Mexico’s Federal Registry (DOF in Spanish), the Government of Mexico is considering the development of a technical regulation that would mandate product placement requirements in stores and supermarkets depending on the number of FOP warning signs and cautionary legends a product is required to carry. The measure would also place additional restrictions on in-store promotions of these products. 

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Agricultural Trade Office (ATO) in Mexico has published this useful Global Agricultural Information Network (GAIN) report, which provides further details about this proposal. 

The project remains in draft status and is not expected to be available for public comment until January 2022. Nonetheless, interested U.S. exporters should stay in close touch with their in-country importers to ensure full compliance with FOPL regulations and to monitor these developments closely.

For questions or to receive additional information on exporting U.S. food and beverage products to Mexico, please contact Senior Commercial Specialist Juan Herrera with the U.S. Commercial Service in Guadalajara at Juan.Herrera@trade.gov. 

Alternatively, to contact ATO in Mexico directly, please reach out to atomexico@usda.gov.