The labeling on the "Yerba Mate" (ilex paraguariensis) packages in the Mercosur" (South American common market)

This paper has been carried out as part of the research project "Analysis of domestic and international legislation of the "yerba mate" market and of the international commercial circuits", with the objective of verifying the execution degree of the established requirements for the product as to labeling, according to the MERCOSUR Technical Regulation, approved by the representative organisms of the respective countries, for product circulation. To be able to compare the labeling on the packages of the block member countries, a research was carried out of the primary source, quali-quantitative, by direct observation of the product, in packages of 1,000, 500 and 250 grams, exhibited on the retailers' shelves in cities belonging to the Block countries, in their versions of: only ingredient, flavored and composed with other herbs. A total of 86 packages were observed, 52% of this total corresponds to Argentina, 24.5% to Brazil, 8.5% to Paraguay and 15% to Uruguay. In this paper the results of the research are exposed on the obligatory and facultative labeling for the "yerba mate", carried out in the cities chosen within the four countries mentioned