Mexico bans junk food sales in schools in its latest salvo against child
obesity
[March 31, 2025]
MEXICO CITY (AP) — A government-sponsored junk food ban in
schools across Mexico took effect on Saturday, officials said, as the
country tries to tackle one of the world’s worst obesity and diabetes
epidemics.
The health guidelines, first published last fall, take a direct shot at
salty and sweet processed products that have become a staple for
generations of Mexican schoolchildren, such as sugary fruit drinks,
packaged chips, artificial pork rinds and soy-encased, chili-flavored
peanuts.
Announcing that the ban had become law, Mexico's Education Ministry
posted on X: “Farewell, junk food!” It encouraged parents to support the
government's crusade by cooking healthy meals for their kids.
“One of the core principles of the new Mexican school system is healthy
living," said Mario Delgado, the public health secretary. “There's a
high level of acceptance of this policy among parents.”
Mexico's ambitious attempt to remake its food culture and reprogram the
next generation of consumers is being watched closely around the world
as governments struggle to turn the tide on a global obesity epidemic.
In the United States, for instance, the Trump administration’s health
secretary, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., has vowed to upend the nation's food
system and “ Make America Healthy Again " by targeting ultra-processed
foods to curb surging obesity and disease.
Under Mexico's new order, schools must phase out any food and beverage
displaying even one black warning logo marking it as high in salt,
sugar, calories and fat. Mexico implemented that compulsory
front-of-package labeling system in 2020.
Enforced from Monday morning, the start of the school week, the junk
food ban also requires schools to serve more nutritious alternatives to
junk food, like bean tacos, and offer plain drinking water.
“It is much better to eat a bean taco than a bag of potato chips,” said
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum, who has championed the ban.
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A child snacks on chicharrón, or fried pork skin, at Chapultepec
park in Mexico City, Saturday, March 29, 2025. (AP Photo/Fernando
Llano)
 Mexico’s children consume more junk
food than anywhere else in Latin America, according to UNICEF, which
classifies the nation’s childhood obesity epidemic as an emergency.
Sugary drinks and highly processed foods account for 40% of the
total calories that children consume in a day, the agency reports.
“At my daughter's school, they told us that future
activities wouldn't have candy, it would be completely different,
with fruit, vegetables and other food that's healthy for kids,” said
Aurora Martínez, a mother of two. “It will help us a lot.”
One-third of Mexican children are already considered overweight or
obese, according to government statistics.
School administrators found in violation of the order face stiff
fines, ranging from $545 to $5,450.
But enforcement poses a challenge in a country where previous junk
food bans have struggled to gain traction and monitoring has been
lax across Mexico’s 255,000 schools, many of which lack water
fountains — even reliable internet and electricity.
It also wasn't immediately clear how the government would forbid the
sale of junk food on sidewalks outside school campuses, where street
vendors typically hawk candy, chips, nachos and ice cream to kids
during recess and after the school day ends.
“It will be difficult,” said Abril Geraldine Rose de León, a child
therapist. “But it will be achieved in the long run.”
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