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Colombia is currently one of the most closely observed jurisdictions regarding the use of fiscal instruments in public health policy.
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Data from the Colombian Ministry of Health suggest that taxes on sugar-sweetened beverages and ultra-processed foods (UPF) are beginning to achieve their intended objectives: reducing consumption in selected product categories while simultaneously generating significant budget revenues.
According to published results up to the end of 2024 (i.e. relatively shortly after implementation), a 4.3% decrease in the consumption of ultra-processed foods and a 2.9% decrease in the consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages were recorded nationwide. These declines were not limited to a single region, which is relevant when assessing the policy’s “reach.” At the same time, the Ministry of Health indicates that the results may also reflect positive effects from front-of-pack warnings, which reinforce price signals with informational cues.
Alongside health taxes, Colombia has introduced mandatory front-of-pack warnings – black octagonal “seals” with a white border and the wording “EXCESO EN …” (i.e. excess of a given component such as SODIO / AZÚCARES / GRASAS SATURADAS / GRASAS TRANS) in relation to regulatory thresholds, or “CONTIENE EDULCORANTES” (contains sweeteners), additionally marked with the term “MINSALUD”.
MINSALUD is the abbreviation used in Colombia for Ministerio de Salud y Protección Social – the Ministry of Health and Social Protection. On front-of-pack warnings (“octágonos”), the MINSALUD label functions as an institutional “signature”, indicating that this is a mandatory requirement imposed by the Ministry, rather than marketing information.
These warnings originate from the statutory decision to introduce alerts for “critical nutrients” (Ley 2120/2021), while detailed parameters (when the seal is required, thresholds for solid and liquid foods, format/size/placement, and transitional periods) were specified in the Ministry of Health’s labelling regulation – in particular Resolución 810/2021, subsequently amended (including corrections in Resolución 254/2023)[1].
In practical terms, warnings and taxes are separate instruments, but they were designed to be complementary:
From a behavioural perspective, changes among younger consumers are particularly noteworthy. Quality-of-life survey data indicate a decline in the proportion of individuals reporting daily consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages, including in the 12–28 age group (from 24.6% to 22.6%) and the 29–44 age group (from 24.9% to 19.2%). A similar trend was observed for packaged snacks, with relatively strong effects in lower-income households.
Price and sales data support the conclusion that the instrument operates as intended (“higher price → reduced demand”). Following implementation, prices of sugar-sweetened beverages initially increased at a rate similar to overall inflation. In subsequent quarters, however, price growth in this category began to exceed inflation more markedly, suggesting that the tax effect became increasingly reflected in retail prices. In practice, such an additional price signal encourages substitution: some consumers shift away from taxed products toward cheaper or perceived healthier alternatives. This is consistent with observed changes in sales structure – declines in sugar-sweetened beverages and increases in water and hydration drinks (including “electrolyte”-type beverages).
The fiscal component is also noteworthy: official summaries indicate that revenues from health taxes increased in 2024, reaching 1.677 trillion COP (approx. USD 458 million) in the first half of 2025.
The Colombian model is presented not as a standalone tax, but as a broader package: regulatory design + monitoring + coordination and accountability mechanisms aimed at reducing implementation gaps and disputes.
From a European perspective, Colombia is a valuable reference point, as it illustrates a clear trend: fiscal instruments are increasingly combined with informational tools (e.g., front-of-pack labelling) and continuous outcome monitoring.
Within the EU, the direction of discussion is similar in many respects – the European Commission has long signalled the strengthening of consumer information frameworks, including work on harmonised, mandatory front-of-pack nutrition labelling and nutrient profiling criteria. At the same time, EU strategic documents explicitly address the evaluation of fiscal measures related to sugar and soft drinks[2].
The challenge is that the European legislative process – inherently multi-level and compromise-driven – is generally very slow. In practice, this often results in a patchwork of national solutions and prolonged periods of uncertainty, while final mechanisms may be weakened during negotiations (e.g. in the area of nutrition and health claims under Regulation (EC) No 1924/2006). This reflects the involvement of numerous strong stakeholder groups – from consumer organisations to the food industry – and the particularly intense debate in the EU on balancing consumer protection, market freedoms and regulatory costs.
Therefore, without assessing any specific market actor, it is regrettable that European consumer protection in the nutrition sector still lacks a simpler, clearer, and comparable architecture across Member States. A good example of a systemic gap is the failure to adopt instruments implementing nutrient profiles. Colombia demonstrates that “hard” tools can be effective when well-designed and consistently implemented. In the EU, similar ambitions exist, but the key question is whether they can be translated into practical, predictable solutions that are resilient to dilution in the decision-making process.
[1] RESOLUCIÓN 810 DE 2021 (16 de junio de 2021) – “Por la cual se establece el reglamento técnico sobre los requisitos de etiquetado nutricional y frontal que deben cumplir los alimentos envasados o empacados para consumo humano.”
PL (working translation): Resolution No. 810 of 2021 (16 June 2021) – “establishing the technical regulation on nutritional labelling and front-of-pack requirements applicable to packaged foods intended for human consumption.”
[2] https://health.ec.europa.eu/system/files/2022-02/eu_cancer-plan_en_0.pdf
Data sources: Presentation of the Colombian Ministry of Health and Social Protection (Minsalud) delivered at a forum on “healthy taxes”, cited in a summary by the Global Health Advocacy Incubator. Consumption indicators are based on public statistics from DANE (including the Quality of Life Survey – ECV, covering consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages and “comida de paquete”), while tax revenue data derive from DIAN tax collection statistics (including “impuestos saludables”). Front-of-pack warnings are based on Resolución 810 de 2021 (Minsalud), as subsequently amended.
