Ramping up its efforts in the prevention of diabetes, Singapore will continue to take "bold steps" to encourage healthier lifestyles among Singaporeans.

While the health ministry has made progress in encouraging Singaporeans to exercise more and eat healthier, Singaporeans' daily sugar intake remains high.

Beverages contribute to more than half of Singaporeans' sugar intake, Senior Minister of State for the Ministry of Law and Health, Edwin Tong said at MOH's Committee of Supply Debate on Mar. 5.

Several Members of the Parliament, including Ang Mo Kio GRC MPs Gan Thiam Poh and Intan Azura Mokhtar as well as Workers' Party MP Leon Perera, have raised concerns and suggested measures to control Singaporeans' consumption of beverages.

Grading beverages from A to D according to sugar and saturated fats levels

Addressing the issue of high daily sugar intake among Singaporeans, Tong has announced at the COS Debate on Mar. 5 two new regulatory measures for pre-packaged beverages, including a nutrient-summary label called the "Nutri-Grade".

Here's how the label might look:

The colour-coded "Nutri-Grade" label will grade pre-packaged beverages from Grade A to D, according to the sugar and saturated fats levels.

Grade A, in green, will correspond to the lowest sugar and saturated fat thresholds while Grade D, in red, will correspond to the highest sugar and saturated fat thresholds.

For example, beverages with more than 5g of sugar per 100ml volume will be graded "C". while beverages with more than 10g of sugar per 100ml volume will be graded "D".

Take this pack of Pokka Green Tea, for example, it contains 5.8g of sugar per 100ml volume and so under the new label, it will be labelled as Grade "C".

With the launch of the "Nutri-Grade" label, only Grade A and B drinks will be awarded with "Healthier Choice" label. That means this pack of Pokka green tea has to reformulate to reduce sugar level even further to retain its "Healthier Choice" label.

That said, some beverages may be ‘downgraded’ to Grade D, if they contain a high amount of saturated fat such as dairy products.

Currently, about 50 per cent of the pre-packaged drinks in Singapore falls under Grade C while 26 per cent falls under Grade D.  These include full-fat milks, isotonic drinks, 3-in-1s, soft drinks, 100% juices and energy drinks.

It will be compulsory for beverages of Grades C and D to display their grades on the packaging to help Singaporeans make informed decisions when they make purchases. Besides the grade, the sugar level of the beverage will also be indicated as a percentage of the total volume.

Grade D drinks and advertising

The label will not only be displayed on the front of beverage packaging, but also at points of sale such as e-commerce websites and vending machines and drink fountains.

Companies are banned from advertising Grade D beverages on all media platforms across all time belts in an effort to reduce the impact of advertising on consumer preferences and encourage companies to reformulate.

Beverages that fall under Grade A to C are allowed to run advertisements.

Extending the measures to freshly-prepared beverages as well

The "Nutri-Grade" label and advertising measures will eventually apply to freshly prepared beverages as well.

These include bubble teas, fresh juices, herbal drinks as well as those freshly made drinks from coffee shops such as Teh and Kopi.

Tong said that these measures will progressively be applied to large chains with consistent recipes and significant reach and impact in Singapore first.

Small businesses such as those in hawker centres will not be affected in this first instance.

The Ministry of Health encourages F&B outlets to step forward to adopt these measures voluntarily.

Still finalising details

Tong said that the point of introducing these regulations "is not to deprive Singaporeans of their favourite drinks, but by encouraging reformulation, to create a wider range of healthier beverages for all to enjoy".

These new regulations will be published at the end of 2020, coming into effect a year later.

The Health Promotion Board (HPB) will kickstart a campaign to raise awareness on "Nutri-Grade" labels among Singaporeans.

The health ministry will also continue to engage the F&B industry in the coming months to finalise the details of these measures and more details will be shared later.

Some details to iron out will include how the new label will affect products awarded with the current "Healthier Choice" label.

Mothership understands that some of the current "Healthier Choice" products will be affected by this change but should pre-packaged beverage companies reformulate their drinks, they can still retain the "Healthier Choice" label on their drinks.

Top photo by Zheng Zhangxin, the Nutri-Grade label design may be subject to further changes and via Tiger Sugar