adios Bimbo Bear

we lost another great one maybe you've noticed pretty much everything you buy here now comes with warning stickers "excess calories" "excess sodium" seems they're trying hard to get the kids that live on crappy pizza and coca-cola to eat a little healthier,hey its a start.

“Remember me”, the famous slogan of Gansito Marinela, could now be part of his farewell.

Of him and that of emblematic characters such as Osito Bimbo, Marvin, Chester Cheetos, El Tigre Toño, Quicky, King Carlos V and even Tía Rosa, along with others who are already beginning to disappear from the packaging of various products in Mexican territory .

After the changes to NOM-051-SCFI, also called the front labeling standard(norma del etiquetado frontal), edible products that have one or more stamps and or some warning legend, will no longer be able to print any character from the first April this year.

The objective of the modification to the norm is to combat obesity in the country, and with the disappearance of the characters it is sought that the children’s market reduces the consumption of products that contain labels or legends because they consider that they have excess sugar, calories, fat and sodium.

OBESITY DUE TO INSECURITY

On a tour of some supermarkets, products with these characters are still seen in the aisles that for decades served several generations, even before obesity became a health problem.

However, they are already beginning to coexist with products that have already been erased from their boxes, bags and other packaging.

The modification to the standard was highly criticized by companies, specialists, even some groups of nutritionists, because all products, even in different categories, if they exceed fats, sugars, calories and sodium per 100 grams or 100 milliliters, will carry one or more warning stamps.

Also because if the excess is only one percent of the allowed limit of sugar or some other critical nutrient, a product will carry the same seals as another similar one that exceeds them even by 100 percent, without specifying that difference to the consumer.

“I do not understand why they remove them, if obesity is due to the insecurity that exists in the country, children do not go out on the streets as before, but they are also sitting all day with their cell phone,” lamented the owner of a store.

The departure of the characters will imply loss of identity and value of the brands, according to consulting firms, including the National Commission for Regulatory Improvement, warned in a 2020 document, of an economic impact of 15 million pesos in annual sales.

Meanwhile, iconic characters like the 76-year-old Bimbo Bear are beginning to disappear from packaging in Mexico.



[Edited on 2-5-2021 by Don Pisto]

I was so surprised the first time I saw the wording for excessive calories and high sugar on many, many products here.