SINGAPORE — Food and Beverage (F&B) outlets must include nutrition labeling on menus of freshly prepared sweetened drinks with high levels of sugar and saturated fat by the end of 2023, Health Minister Ong Ye Kung said last Thursday. announced on August 11th. ).
Starting Dec. 30, the Nutri-Grade system used to grade prepackaged beverages based on their sugar and saturated fat content will include coffee shop brews, freshly squeezed juices and bubble tea. It extends to freshly prepared beverages such as .
In March 2020, Health Minister Edwin Tong said, “We will provide Singaporeans with the right information to make healthy choices, while encouraging manufacturers to reconfigure their products and create healthier options. It is intended to announced the scheme.
Grades range from A to D, with D being the worst.
Those high in sugar and saturated fat are ranked C or D and require a Nutrigrade label on the package.D drinks are also subject to advertising restrictions.
The recent move to extend the label to freshly made drinks has led some sellers of such drinks to ask how the nutritional content is measured.
In response to today’s question, the Ministry of Health (MOH) and Health Promotion Board (HPB) said: A place that serves freshly made drinks.
“We do not require all establishments to use laboratory analysis to determine the sugar and saturated fat content of their beverages.”
They added that it is acceptable to grade beverages by estimating sugar and saturated fat content from the individual ingredients in the beverage.
“Details of the measures will be announced in the coming months as soon as they are ready,” said the Ministry of Health and HPB.
A grading scheme for packaged beverages will be announced in 2020 and will be fully implemented on December 30th, has the sugar content of such beverages already changed?
And with the plans in place for freshly brewed beverages, what impact will it have on consumers and F&B operators?
What has been the reaction to the Nutrigrade scheme so far?
In announcing the expansion of the Nutri-Grade system to freshly brewed beverages, Ong said the prevalence of diabetes in Singapore has been “pretty consistent” over the years and that long-term action is needed to tackle the problem. said it was due to early detection. and preventive care.
One of the main risks of diabetes is obesity, and the World Health Organization (WHO) has called on countries to reduce their sugar intake.
“Today, more than half of Singaporeans’ daily sugar intake comes from beverages, with nearly two-thirds of that coming from prepackaged beverages such as canned and packet drinks,” he said. I was.
The Nutrigrade system, which is due to be fully introduced into packaged beverages later this year, has “received positive responses from the demand and supply sides of the industry,” Ong said.
Median sugar content in packaged beverages has fallen from 7.1% in 2017 to 4.7% in 2021. This is because producers will recondition their beverages prior to the effective date of the measures.
He also noted that sales of packaged beverages containing sugars classified as grades C and D have fallen from 63% in 2017 to 40% in 2021.
“Conversely, sales of beverages with less than 5% sugar increased from 37% to 60% over the same period,” says Ong.
How does this scheme work for freshly made drinks?
Samantha Chan, a marketing and digital communications lecturer at the Nanyang Polytechnic (NYP) School of Management, said the NutriGrade scheme will help consumers of freshly brewed beverages make better choices.
“Labeling helps raise awareness of the sugar content in such drinks and makes consumers more aware of what they consume. I will support you,” she said.
She agreed with other nutritionists and marketing experts, noting that consumer awareness helps them make better choices.
Associate Professor Zhang Kuangjie of Nanyang Business School said the labeling would increase the transparency of the nutritional content (such as hidden sugars) in freshly prepared drinks.
“For example, some consumers are unaware that a cup of bubble tea with the lowest sugar level may still contain a lot of sugar due to other ingredients such as syrup and condensed milk. There may be
However, experts also point to some challenges in changing consumer behavior and helping eateries adapt to the new rules.
Chan noted that the change may not work for some consumers who regularly purchase sugary drinks.
To overcome this, she suggested employing strategies such as gamification. This allows consumers to make a healthier switch through engagement.
Chan also said that a higher Nutrigrade mark is not considered a healthier choice and may receive backlash from eateries.
“For example, a sugar-free soda drink (potentially nutrient grade B) is not necessarily healthier than 100% fresh orange juice (potentially nutrient grade D),” he said. , authorities should consider incorporating other nutritional aspects into the plan.
In response to such concerns from public consultation on the 2020 grading scheme, the MOH and HPB agreed that the scheme would focus on sugar and saturated fat content and that the scheme would promote a healthier diet. He emphasized working with public education efforts to
“MOH and HPB recognize the nutritional benefits of full-fat milk and 100% juice and intend to highlight them as part of our public education efforts in response to comments regarding these two prepackaged beverages. .”
Claudine Loong, a lecturer in food science and nutrition at Nanyang Polytechnic’s School of Applied Science, said companies selling fruit juices may struggle with new schemes because they may not be able to cut back on sugar. pointed out.
“For fruit juices made by squeezing or blending the fruit itself, the sugar is naturally present in the fruit itself, so reducing it is simply not possible,” she said.
In contrast, to reduce the total sugar or fat content of other high-fat or sweetened beverages, it is easier to reduce the addition of full-fat whipped cream, flavored and sweetened syrups, sugar or tapioca tea pearls.
“Because of the sensory properties of fat and sugar, removal of these ingredients will also affect the texture and properties of beverages such as milkshakes and yogurt drinks,” Loong added.
However, she conceded that fresh fruit juices and fruit-based drinks may increase perceptions that they are not “as healthy as they look” due to their high sugar levels.
Seshan Ramaswamy, Associate Professor of Marketing Education at Singapore Management University, also said authorities need to help coffee shops standardize their sugar use.
For example, he noted the term: Shiudai (low sugar) may indicate different amounts depending on your tea or coffee maker.
“Naturally, the burden is on the beverage stall operators who have to take a little more care to understand the specifications of the various labels and ensure consistency across time and place to maintain the same level. It will take,” he said.
“We hope to get some help from HPB and other associations so they can devise a way to accurately mark their menus and deliver the promised grade of sugar content.”
He also pointed out that chain beverage operators that rely on multiple locations and marketing and branding efforts to attract customers need to pay more attention to their marketing efforts.
“Advertising will need to be a little more careful as they may not be able to feature the most extravagant and glamorous looking variations, such as drinks topped with fudge or whipped cream,” he said, adding that they Do not let their drinks fall into the Grade D zone.
He also pointed out that, apart from advertising, the display of drinks at the time of purchase can influence consumer decisions, and this may be difficult to regulate.
“If there is enforcement that requires periodic checks, the scheme may require random sampling of drinks from various operators on an ongoing basis to ensure that labels remain accurate. “It’s only effective for,” he said.
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