Table 1.
Timeline describing the main events related to the design and implementation of nutritional warnings in Uruguay
| Period | Date | Event |
|---|---|---|
| Design of the regulation | June 2016 | Creation of an inter-sectoral working group to design an FOPL regulation |
| June 2017 | Public consultation of the draft regulation | |
| November 2017 | A final version of the decree is prepared by the inter-sectoral working group | |
| June 2018 | Agreement of the Ministers of Health of MERCOSUR regarding FOPL | |
| 29 August 2018 | Decree 272/018 approves nutritional warnings in Uruguay | |
| Implementation of the regulation | September 2018 | Trade concerns raised by Argentina and Paraguay at MERCOSUR |
| November 2018 | Appeals from the food industry presented at the national level | |
| February 2019 | Changes in the administrative process to register food products to be commercialised in the country are introduced to facilitate enforcement of the regulation | |
| March 2019 | Implementation manual is published by the Ministry of Public Health | |
| May 2019 | Mass media campaign about healthy eating from the Ministry of Public Health, including octagonal warning signs with the expression ‘Avoid Excess’ | |
| June 2019 | Requests to postpone the entry into force are presented by the food industry | |
| September 2019 | Children attending public schools received magnets featuring octagonal warnings signs with the expression ‘Avoid Excess’ | |
| 1 March 2020 | Entry into force of the regulation | |
| 1 March 2020 | Change in government | |
| Delay of the entry into force | 11 March 2020 | Delay of the entry into force (Decree 091/020) and creation of a cross-sector working group to revise the policy |
| 29 May 2020 | The cross-sector working group prepares a report with two different recommendations | |
| June 2020 | Results of studies on citizens’ opinions about the decision to delay the entry into force of the policies and the immediate effects of nutritional warnings are published in the media | |
| 18 June 2020 | Press conference to announce the continuation of the policy | |
| 2 September 2020 | Decree 246/020 introduces changes in the nutritional criteria to define excessive content of critical nutrients | |
| September 2020 | Appeals against the new decree are presented by the food industry | |
| 26 January 2021 | Decree 034/021 introduces changes in the nutritional criteria to define excessive content of critical nutrients |