The Government eliminated the National Food Institute and transferred its functions to Senasa

He did it through decree 697/2026 published in the Official Gazette, in which he ordered the dissolution of the INAL and the absorption by Senasa of the functions of food registration, control and inspection.

Furthermore, the regulations determined that the Ministry of Health concentrates its leadership on the definition of food policy, with initial focus on the elimination of coloring and flavorings from processed foods, while at the same time modified the National Food Code (CAA), establishing for the first time a maximum period for its update.

The INAL It had three central functions: it verified that products on the market complied with the CAA; authorized establishments, products, imports and exports; and carried out food safety and food safety tests to detect health risks.

Now those powers will pass to Senasa. As the Government explained, this absorption of powers “is not random,” but rather the national body “It already has the largest territorial food control infrastructure in the country —laboratories, inspectorate and deployment throughout the national territory for primary and industrial production—, something that INAL never had deployed on that scale. “This is a question of installed operational capacity, not of institutional hierarchy.”

“With this reorganization, the control functions are separated from the health stewardship functions: Senasa specializes in the operational control of food throughout the country, while the Ministry of Health concentrates its technical capacity on the conduct of healthy eating policies, starting with the agenda of reducing colorings and flavorings in processed products,” they argued.

For the Government, having Senasa concentrate the functions of INAL will consolidate “a simpler, more efficient and predictable system”, at the same time that “duplications of powers and controls are eliminated, concentrating in the organization the registration, control and supervision of imports of food products.”

In addition, it will authorize and supervise official provincial establishments and the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires that verify CAA standards.

On the other hand, certifications of additives, technological adjuvants and ingredients issued by countries with recognized control systems or that apply the Codex Alimentarius are recognized by equivalence, avoiding duplicate procedures and evaluations.

On the other hand, it establishes a Single Databasein charge of Senasa, “centralizing information and records of products and establishments to streamline management and strengthen traceability”, while applying “a maximum period of 45 business days to update the CAA, providing greater predictability, transparency and agility to the process of modifying the regulations”

Finally, the Government understands that these changes will allow a streamlining foreign trade, is special, as regards the food import packaged for direct sale, establishing post-entry controls “to avoid unnecessary delays in marketing.”

Likewise, it “facilitates the food export, establishing that the products must meet the requirements of the destination country and that the certifications will be issued by a single organization with international recognition.”