With the second decade of the 21st century coming to an end in an uncertain and changing environment in the economic and geopolitical sphere, organizations must adapt to changes, but to do so successfully they must have a Business Climate that allows them to develop, invest, promote research in the development of new products or services in order to be more competitive in the market and to be increasingly efficient and effective.
However, one of the great problems facing organizations in the world is the actions taken by the governments of the countries in matters of economic policy, regulatory framework and management, given that these affect the Business Climate. To analyze this issue, specifically in the regulatory framework, I am going to take an example from Peru.
The Ministry of Health (Minsa) is preparing to publish the healthy education guidelines that will contain the specifications regarding the food that should be sold in kiosks and school canteens nationwide, in compliance with the Healthy Eating Law.
“With the Ministry of Education (Minedu), the guidelines for healthy education in basic education educational institutions are being finalized, so there is little left to be approved and published. This document will contain the recommendations for kiosks and school canteens on the food that should be sold in these businesses, "said Lily Sandoval Cervantes, nutritionist and person in charge of this document from Minsa.
Among the novelties of this health directive is that the implementation of octagons in processed foods will be contemplated. In other words, this directive will prohibit the sale of foods with octagons in school kiosks and cafeterias nationwide: those that exceed the standards of high fat, saturated fat, sodium and sugar.
"Foods that exceed the critical nutrients set forth in the Healthy Eating Act will not be able to be sold in kiosks or in school canteens nationwide," the aforementioned nutritionist warned.
Given this, he specified that the guidelines will have specifications for the control actions as well as the sanctions that will be imposed on businesses that fail to comply with these measures.
On this measure I must point out that in principle I agree, given that -based on various scientific research- the continuous consumption of chizitos, snacks and other processed foods in schools can have negative consequences on the health of the school population.
Now, although our Constitution states in its seventh article that "everyone has the right to the protection of their health…", and in the ninth that "the State determines the national health policy…", and even when it has been proven technical and scientifically that the continuous consumption of chizitos, snacks and other processed foods in schools is harmful to health - studies published in specialized scientific journals show that these products increase the risk of obesity, diabetes, metabolic syndrome, hypertension -, I consider that it is quite controversial suggest that simply by prohibiting their consumption in kiosks and dining rooms, it will be possible to substantially reduce their consumption, since it does not attack the underlying problem: to get schoolchildren to reduce the indiscriminate consumption of these products.
If we want to safeguard and protect the health of our schoolchildren, the most advisable thing is to develop intense education campaigns, at all levels of society, to promote healthy eating.
In this sense, I must reiterate in principle my support for this health directive since in my opinion it implies an awareness of healthy eating and the health of schoolchildren in particular and all Peruvians in general, which will positively influence by creating a Favorable business climate for both local and foreign investors, by guiding the commercialization of packaged food with clear rules, with the consequent benefit for the country.
