Singapore to launch Nutri-Grade color-coded beverage labels, industry criticizes move

09 Mar 2020 --- The Singaporean Ministry of Health (MOH) has announced new regulations on sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs), including color-coded labeling – dubbed Nutri-Grade – for ready-to-drink (RTD) beverages. The move elicited a response from Food Industry Asia (FIA), which welcomes the new regulations in terms of promoting healthier choices. However, FIA flags the regulations may lead to consumer confusion and fail to inspire Singaporeans to make better beverage choices. The news comes as sugar reduction has become a pervasive industry trend and governments globally are pushing for reformulations.

“We believe that the new measures are disproportionate and can have some negative implications on areas such as trade and consumer demand,” Matthew Kovac, Executive Director of FIA, tells NutritionInsight.

“The new Nutri-Grade label comes at a time when seven beverage manufacturers, including three of our member companies, had already made a three-year commitment [in 2017] to reduce their sugar content to 12 percent or lower. The change in sugar thresholds to 10 g per 100 ml is essentially shifting the goalpost and will negatively affect the progress that has been achieved so far. It could also have a negative impact on trade as the current Healthier Choice Symbol is recognized in markets like Malaysia, and having a new label with a new set of criteria and guidelines can result in a spill-over effect,” he adds.

The four grades of the Nutri-Grade labeling are A (dark green); B (light green); C (Yellow); and D (red). Grade A has the lowest sugar content and grade D accordingly has the highest. The label will be displayed front-of-pack as well as e-commerce websites, vending machines and drinks fountains. 

Click to Enlarge Matthew Kovac, Executive Director of FIA.In addition, all forms of advertising for grade D beverages will be banned across all media platforms to encourage consumers to make healthier choices and industry to reformulate.

“The advertising restrictions on grade D beverages across all channels will impact all pre-packaged, non-alcoholic beverages, which are mostly imported products. Implementing an advertising ban based on limited scientific evidence on grade D SSBs can potentially damage Singapore’s reputation as a business-friendly environment and an innovation hub for the F&B sector without countervailing benefit,” Kovac warns.

“The advertising restrictions can also potentially result in companies responding to the ban by lowering prices, which then leads to an increase in product demand, and consumers potentially switching to alternatives with higher sugar content – negating the reasons behind implementing the new measures in the first place,” he flags.

In support of a collaborative approach
The FIA believes that a collaborative approach involving the government, industry and other stakeholders is required to tackle Singapore’s current public health challenge that high sugar consumption may endorse, such as diabetes. 

The FIA says it continues to stand with its industry partners to support their efforts to develop solutions that can effectively tackle complex health challenges faced by Singaporeans.

According to the FIA, in previous years, local industry has achieved significant progress in reducing the sugar content in products. Recent statistics by the MOH and Health Promotion Board (HPB) show that 94 percent of SSBs in Singapore contain no more than 12 percent of sugar, while 31 percent are within the range of zero to six percent of sugar, meeting the current Healthier Choice Symbol (HCS) guidelines. 

Reformulation with taste top of mind
The reformulation process is carried out in phases to encourage consumer acceptance. However, a sudden shift in sugar thresholds may negatively affect the progress that has been achieved so far and could potentially lead to consumers rejecting products. “Consequently, consumers may opt for alternatives that are equal or higher in sugar content,” Kovac says.  

He further adds that the reformulation journey is one that is continuous and challenging, and the top priority for F&B companies is often to maintain taste while ensuring that the products are high in nutritional quality in order to encourage consumer acceptance. While consumers are generally accepting of reformulated products, taste and quality remain key priorities.

“Therefore, reformulation is carried out in phases to ensure that the nuances of products’ taste profiles are taken into consideration. Furthermore, a gradual reduction of nutrients over a period of time stands a better chance of consumer acceptance in the long term,” Kovac explains.

Moving forward
“Rather than focusing on single-component interventions, we believe that a comprehensive set of initiatives such as consumer education and food innovation, which are developed with input from all stakeholders and clearly supported by science-based evidence, will help to tackle the complex health challenges faced by consumers today,” Kovac notes.

Despite its objections however, FIA still says that MOH’s decision to extend the new mandatory nutrition labeling and advertising restrictions to freshly prepared beverages is a positive step forward. The organization recognizes that they are a growing source of sugar in Singaporeans’ diets, and regulating only pre-packaged beverages will likely lead to a substitution effect.

By Kristiana Lalou

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