Evaluation of the front-of-package warning labels of the Chilean Food Law by adults responsible for schoolchildren in the districts of La Serena and Coquimbo

The Chilean Food Law of 2016 was a public policy created to address the problem of obesity in Chile and includes front-of-package warning labeling. The objective of the study is to evaluate the recognition, value judgment and use of the front-of-package warning labels described in the regulation, among caretakers of schoolchildren, in the districts of La Serena and Coquimbo, Chile. A cross-sectional study was conducted. A total of 543 personal surveys were applied in 22 educational establishments selected by stratified probability sampling. Chi-square goodness of fit test and contingency tables were used, a p value<0.05 was considered significant. Almost all caretakers surveyed (98.7%) recognized warning labels, mainly in packaging, 82% of the participants rated the presence of the labels as unhealthy and 68.1% reported the absence of the label indicated a healthy food. The label comparison was made by 67.5% of the respondents, of which 97.4% chose foods with fewer labels. 91.3% indicated that the quantity of food purchased with warning labels decreased in relation to the period before the law was launched. Warning labels are known, understood, and considered in food selection.