Note: This article was originally published on June 13, 2024, and was updated on April 21, 2025, and September 5, 2025.
Mexico has specific regulations for nutrition labeling designed to ensure consumers have access to clear and accurate information. These regulations mandate that most pre-packaged food products include a nutrition facts label, ingredient lists, and declare any known allergens. Additionally, front-of-pack labeling is required to provide consumers with at-a-glance information about the nutritional quality of the product.
Read More: Front-of-Pack Labeling: FDA Proposes Plan to Make Food Labels Easier to Understand
Creating Nutrition Fact panels for the Mexican market can be complex, but Genesis Foods makes it straightforward. Genesis Foods assists users in creating a variety of Norma Official Mexicana (NOM) compliant Nutrition Facts labels and simplifies the process of creating ingredient lists and allergen statements.
Mexico's official standard for food and beverage labeling, known as NOM-051, has been a significant catalyst for change in the country's food and beverage industry. Since its initial implementation in October 2020, the regulation has progressed through various stages, each introducing stricter requirements aimed at combating high rates of obesity, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease.
While Phase II of Mexico's labeling requirements brought a new set of challenges and adjustments, the industry is now facing the final and most significant stage: Phase III. This post will review the key points of all three phases and prepare you for the imminent changes.
Phase I of NOM-051 introduced the mandatory front-of-pack (FOP) labeling system with the now-familiar black octagonal seals. These seals were required for products that exceeded specific nutritional thresholds for calories, sugars, saturated fats, trans fats, and sodium. The regulation also mandated cautionary legends for products containing caffeine and sweeteners and prohibited the use of characters, animations, and other child-targeted marketing elements on products with warning seals.
Read More: Creating Mexico Front-of-Package Warning Seals and Statements
Phase II built on the foundations of Phase I by introducing more stringent nutritional thresholds. A key element of this phase was the evaluation of specific nutrients added to a product. For example, if a product contained added sugars, it would be evaluated for its sugar and calorie content.
A new agreement, published on July 31, 2025, in the Mexico Government's Federal Register has postponed the starting date for the third and final phase of NOM-051. The original start date of October 1, 2025, has been moved to January 1, 2028. The second phase will now remain in effect until December 31, 2027.
This extension provides manufacturers with a longer runway to adapt their products and labeling to the stricter requirements outlined in the final (and most rigorous) phase of the regulation:
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For Genesis Foods users, nothing will change. When working within the Mexican authority, you'll be able to adopt the Phase III criteria early, helping you stay proactive and prepare your products to meet the stricter regulations well before the new deadline.
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To ensure compliance with Mexican nutrition labeling regulations, it is essential to include specific nutrient information on your product labels. In most cases, the following nutrients must be declared on the Nutrition Facts label for regulated pre-packaged food products: Calories, protein, fat, saturated fat, trans fat, carbohydrates, sugar, added sugar, dietary fiber, and sodium. Note: Additional nutrients may be required per the regulations, for example, if a nutrient content claim is made.
Genesis Foods simplifies the process of creating accurate Nutrition Facts (Declaración Nutrimental) labels, with guard rails to help your product label comply with Mexican regulatory standards. Users can enter their product nutrition information, and the software automatically calculates nutrient values and formats the information according to the regulations.
Standard Vertical Labels: This label format (pictured on the right) is the most commonly used label format. This label format includes all required nutrients with amounts per serving and daily value percentages in a vertical format. Genesis Foods simplifies the creation of these labels, ensuring that all necessary information is accurately presented and compliant with regulatory standards.
Linear Labels: For packaging that requires a more compact format, Genesis Foods assists in generating linear labels presented in a simplified, horizontal layout. These labels still deliver all necessary nutritional details in a clear and compliant manner, ideal for products with limited packaging space.
Dual Column Labels: Products with multiple servings often use dual column labels to show nutritional information per serving and per package. Genesis Foods makes it easy to create these labels, ensuring that all required information is presented accurately, providing a detailed comparison of nutrients per serving and per package.
Accurate ingredient labeling is a critical component of compliance with Mexican food labeling regulations. To ensure that consumers are well-informed about the contents of a product, the following guidelines must be adhered to: The list of ingredients must be headed or preceded by the word “Ingredientes” (Ingredients). In general, the ingredients must be listed in quantitative order. This ensures consumers are well-informed about the contents of the product, aiding in transparency and consumer trust.
In addition to Nutrition Facts panels, Genesis Foods automates the creation of accurate ingredient lists by calculating the weight of each ingredient in your recipe and automatically listing them in order of predominance.
Proper allergen labeling is essential to protect consumers with food allergies and intolerances. To comply with Mexican regulations, ingredients or additives that cause hypersensitivity, intolerance, or allergic reaction must be declared, headed, or preceded by the word “Contiene” (Contains).
*Tree nuts must be listed by specific type (e.g., almonds, walnuts, hazelnuts, pecans, etc.).
Genesis Foods is pre-loaded with all required allergens and guides users through the ingredient and recipe creation process to review them, ensuring all potential allergens are clearly and correctly identified. This automation minimizes errors, ensures compliance with Mexican regulations, and enhances consumer safety and trust.
NOM-051, or "Norma Oficial Mexicana NOM-051," is the official Mexican standard that sets the labeling requirements for all pre-packaged food and non-alcoholic beverages sold in the country. It was created to help consumers make more informed and healthy choices by clearly identifying products with excessive levels of critical nutrients.
The warning seals are black octagonal symbols placed on the front of food and beverage packaging. Each seal corresponds to a specific nutrient that is present in excess of the official thresholds. The five seals are:
Yes. NOM-051 applies to both domestically produced and imported pre-packaged food and non-alcoholic beverages intended for the Mexican market. Imported products must comply with all labeling requirements, and in many cases, this must be verified by an accredited Inspection Unit before they are released from customs.
Mexico’s adoption of the rigorous standards outlined in NOM-051 is rooted in a commitment to public health with initiatives that equip consumers with transparent, reliable, and easily understood information about prepackaged foods and non-alcoholic beverages. Changes to the official standard were made with a few core objectives in mind:
Understanding the complexities of NOM-051 is one thing; executing a flawless compliance plan is another. The constant updates, complex calculations, and risk of non-compliance can be a major challenge for any food and beverage brand. It's an important job, and that's why it's so important to have the right tools for getting it done.
Genesis Foods is designed to simplify this process. Instead of manually crunching numbers and cross-referencing regulations, you can use our solution to:
Stop guessing and start creating with confidence. With Genesis Foods, you can ensure that your products are always compliant with the latest Mexican labeling laws, saving you time, protecting your brand, and giving you peace of mind.
Ready to get started? Check out our hands-on demo of Genesis Foods, and then get in touch with one of our experts to learn more about how our solutions fit into a smart labeling compliance strategy.