SINGAPORE: Food and beverage outlets will be required by end-2023 to include nutrition labels on their menus indicating drinks that contain higher levels of sugar and saturated fat.
These include freshly brewed drinks from coffee shops, freshly squeezed juices and bubble tea.
“Our latest measures will require the outlets selling these drinks to label on their hard and softcopy menus beverages higher in sugar and saturated fat with the Nutri-Grade mark,” said Health Minister Ong Ye Kung on Thursday (Aug 11).
Calling such drinks a “growing source of sugar in Singaporeans’ diets”, Mr Ong said the Health Ministry is working towards publishing these measures in the middle of next year and have them implemented by end-2023.
“Advertising prohibitions will also apply to these freshly prepared beverages with the highest level of sugar and saturated fat content,” said Mr Ong, who was speaking at the opening ceremony of the 19th International Society for Peritoneal Dialysis Congress.
He added that these measures aim “to help consumers make more informed, healthier choices, reduce the influence of advertising on consumer preferences and spur industry reformulation”.
“While we cannot avoid the sugar in juices and sugar cane drink, we can enjoy coffee, tea, Milo and bubble tea with less sugar content,” he said.
“I hope more Singaporeans will realise that less sugar will bring out the natural flavours of the drinks and we may well find them even more enjoyable… More importantly, it keeps us healthy, and staves off a very scary disease in diabetes.”
In December, MOH announced that pre-packaged drinks such as soft drinks, juice and milk will be required to carry the new Nutri-Grade labels by the end of 2022.
The four-level grading system is based on the sugar and saturated fat content in beverages. It will be colour-coded – A (dark green), B (light green), C (orange) and D (red), with A being the category with the lowest sugar and fat thresholds.