Argentina: Revolution in Food Regulation, including Additives and Ingredients
As readers are aware, Argentina’s current administration has followed through on its commitment to cut red tape and bureaucracy through deregulation. We have covered the changes across regulated product categories from pesticides to cosmetics. Now, the focus is on food regulation. The scale of the change here may be larger than the other sector-specific updates.
· Big Changes to the Agencies with Oversight
In Decree 697/2026, published August 3, 2026, Argentina chose to dissolve the operational role of the National Food Institute (Instituto Nacional de Alimentos or “INAL”). The INAL has been the food unit that had operated within the National Administration on Medications, Food, and Medical Technology (ANMAT). Effective immediately, the registration, control, and enforcement functions over food products have been transferred to the National Service for Agrifood Health and Quality (SENASA), which becomes the sole operational authority for food registration and enforcement nationwide.
The Ministry of Health (which oversees ANMAT) retains rule-setting authority only, exercised through a newly created Secretary of Sanitary Management (Secretaría de Gestión Sanitaria). That authority covers updates to the Argentina Food Code (Código Alimentario Argentino or “CAA”), evaluation of new additives and technologies, and nutritional labeling policy. Operational enforcement, previously split between SENASA and ANMAT, now sits with a single agency.
· Registration of Additives and Ingredients Just Got Easier for Some
For companies working with food additives, processing aids, and ingredients, the bigger news out of Decree 697/2026 is the move toward registration by equivalence. As reported, Argentina had already moved to recognize certifications for finished food products and packaging issued by countries with equivalent food control systems, listed in Annex III to Decree 2126/71 as added by Decree 35/2025. Basically, Argentina recognized a group of countries in Annex III as trusted or reference countries or regions: Australia, Canada, Switzerland, EU, USA, New Zealand, Israel, Japan, and the United Kingdom, along with countries with which Argentina maintains economic integration treaties or reciprocity agreements on sanitary matters.
Now that same recognition is extended to food additives, processing aids, and ingredients used as industrial inputs. Now, if those food industry products are certified by one of those trusted countries or regions, their import only requires companies to complete a sworn import declaration, and the national sanitary authority may not impose additional requirements.
Where an additive or ingredient is not yet listed in the CAA for the relevant food category, or is listed without specific use conditions, the country of origin’s conditions of use apply by default. Argentina’s own CAA prohibitions and maximum use limits, where they exist, continue to prevail over the exporting country’s conditions.
Import procedures are correspondingly split. Products with certification from one of those trusted nations proceed on the sworn-declaration track described above. All other imports continue to require full registration under the RNE and RNPA, along with SENASA analytical verification prior to market release. For companies seeking to have a domestic ingredient, additive, or process recognized as equivalent to an already-approved import, the decree sets a 60-calendar day resolution deadline.
· Argentina Jumps on the Additive Restrictions
As reported in other countries across the region, food dyes have been top of regulatory agendas after the safety signal set off by the decision of the US FDA to ban FD&C Red No. 3. Now, Argentina has announced that the Ministry of Health’s new rule-setting mandate will prioritize eliminating dyes and flavorings from processed foods, aligning with international healthy-eating standards. This priority comes from the government’s public statements accompanying the enactment of Decree 697/2026 – but it is not yet a regulatory reality. Companies should treat it as a stated policy direction to monitor rather than a current compliance obligation.
· New MERCOSUR “Contaminant” Definition Update
As ever, Argentina continues to incorporate the rules and revisions required by its membership in Mercosur. In the latest (adopting GMC Resolution 13/24 via Argentina Resolution 10/2026), the country has broadened the definition of food “contaminant” to cover undesirable substances introduced anywhere in the supply chain, not just during manufacturing. Companies should extend quality assurance review to transport and storage accordingly.
Key Takeaway:
Companies operating in the food industry – including manufacturers and suppliers of food additives and ingredients – need to take note of important regulatory changes in Argentina.
Link to Decree:
https://www.argentina.gob.ar/normativa/nacional/decreto-35-2025-408481/texto
Link to Resolution:
https://www.boletinoficial.gob.ar/detalleAviso/primera/345193/20260730
Mexico: Imports Getting Harder
Trade with Mexico has quietly gotten harder. Companies are fielding new documentation requests, facing unfamiliar delays, and asking what regulation is behind it all. The answer is not a single new rule, but two procedural changes to Mexico’s customs framework that, together, now represent a real operational burden for anyone exporting supplies or finished goods into the country.
· New Customs Broker Liability
A first wave of concern traces back to changes to Article 54 of the Customs Law, in effect since January 2026. Customs brokers in Mexico now put their broker license on the line every time they submit a customs declaration (pedimento aduanal). Responsibility for the accuracy of that declaration, down to the tariff code selected, now falls personally on the broker. That shift in personal liability has made brokers far more demanding about the documentation they require before they are willing to certify that a product or substance has been properly classified. Companies that shipped under the same tariff code for years are now fielding requests for studies, certificates of analysis, or formal local classification, all to substantiate a code they had used without issue for a long time. The underlying driver is the broker’s own exposure, not any change to Mexico’s chemical regulations or hazardous substance rules, and companies should understand the distinction before assuming a new substantive requirement is at play.
· Electronic Customs Valuations
A second wave of concern stems from a late 2024 change to Mexico’s General Rules on Foreign Commerce, which moved the customs valuation declaration (Manifestación de Valor) from a paper process to a mandatory electronic filing (MVe) submitted through the online trade portal VUCEM. Importers (or their agent) must now transmit the Manifestación de Valor and its supporting documentation electronically, reference the resulting e-document in the pedimento, and retain the filing electronically. The underlying valuation methodology has not changed. Only the method of documenting and transmitting the information has.
That change to electronic format makes a bigger difference than it might seem. What was once a paper form kept on file by the customs broker in case of an audit now has to be submitted electronically, with supporting documentation, at the time of filing. That documentation is specific: commercial invoices, transport documents, proof of payment for goods and any incremental costs, commercial contracts setting out payment terms, and valuation studies where applicable. Companies will need to secure an MVe reference number before the customs entry can proceed, which means the filing functions as a gatekeeping step: get it wrong, or fail to have it approved in VUCEM, and the shipment does not move.
The stakes extend well past a rejected filing. Incomplete or inconsistent documentation can expose companies to significant penalties and broader operational consequences under Mexico’s customs framework. The shift also gives Mexico’s tax authority (SAT) automatic access to valuation data and supporting documents, heightening concern about future audits. For companies with import operations of any scale, valuation compliance is no longer a single filing handled by trade compliance. It now depends on structured data flowing consistently from procurement, finance, and logistics.
The implementation deadline has already been postponed multiple times. It appeared set to take effect August 1, 2026, until the government issued a last-minute reprieve the day before. The deadline now stands at September 30, 2026. Companies that have not already begun preparing should treat that date as firm and start now.
Key Takeaway:
Shipping into Mexico now demands more rigor around data and documentation than in years past. Companies that treat tariff classification and customs valuation as border-level paperwork, rather than a cross-functional data process, will be the ones caught off guard.
Keeping Track of Chemical Control Obligations Across Latin America
Colombia, Chile, Peru, and Brazil are all moving through different phases of chemical control implementation, each with its own deadlines and requirements. Keeping the full picture straight across four countries is becoming more challenging.
I put together this Latin America Chemical Control Planner to highlight the key regulatory milestones companies should have on their radar, from immediate reporting deadlines to registration windows that are still a few years away.
Whether a team is facing a deadline this quarter or building a multi-year LATAM REACH strategy, hopefully this planner proves useful.
Chemicals in Latin America? LATAM REACH is changing the regulatory landscape.
I am now booking private LATAM REACH Strategy Sessions for Regulatory Affairs, Product Stewardship, Compliance, EHS, and in-house Legal teams.
These are confidential, company-specific working sessions, not webinars or presentations, designed to answer a team’s questions and help prioritize next steps.
Common Questions We Address
✔️ Are your products or substances in scope?
✔️ Which countries require immediate attention?
✔️ Are any products exempt?
✔️ What are the registration pathways and timelines?
✔️ What data should you begin gathering now?
✔️ Where should you focus first across Chile, Colombia, Peru, and Brazil?
✔️ Open Q&A on your team’s specific LATAM REACH questions
Format
📍 Virtual ⏱️ 90 minutes 🎯 Tailored to your products, markets, and regulatory priorities
If your team would benefit from a focused discussion of how LATAM REACH applies to your business, contact me to book a session.
📧 mowen@ambientelegal.com 👉 www.ambientelegal.com/services
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Tracking Brazil’s new chemical management law? Visit www.BrazilREACH.comfor plain-English guidance on Law 15.022/2024, including what an Only Representative structure means in practice.
Questions about how any of this applies to your business? Reach out directly at mowen@ambientelegal.comto talk about how we can help your business succeed in Latin America.
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