But the Office of the United States Trade Representative, which is leading the Nafta talks on the American side, is trying to head off the momentum. The Trump administration’s position on food labeling reflects the desires of a broad coalition of soft-drink and packaged-foods manufacturers in the United States. PhotoThe Grocery Manufacturers Association, a food industry trade group that sits on the advisory board to the trade talks, says it favors voluntary labeling programs. Still, public health experts consider most of the labels other than those required by Chile to be relatively weak or ineffective. “These college kids couldn’t even do it,” said Dr. Simón Barquera, the director of health research and nutrition policy at the Mexican public health institute.

Source: New York Times March 20, 2018 16:28 UTC