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Reining in the cost of unwanted calories, sugar and salt

By Sharon See

TO WIN a war, access to information is critical.

This can be said, too, of Singapore’s ongoing battle against diabetes, hypertension and other chronic diseases. And winning this war is non- negotiable: a rise in the incidence of these diseases, in an ageing population, would create a burden for Singapore’s healthcare system that amounts to a big strike on the national healthcare finances as well.

Poor dietary habits remain a key cause of these diseases, but this may be partly due to alack of full information and consumer education. Some consumers may claim to not know the nutritional composition of their favourite food, which probably contains too much sugar, salt or oil. And in day-to-day life, many others perhaps simply aren’t too perturbed about the consequences of making poor food choices.

To be sure, Singapore began taking steps to raise consumer awareness years ago with some measure of success. After authorities introduced a mandatory labelling system called Nutri-Grade to indicate sugar levels and saturated fat in pre-packaged drinks, researchers from Duke- NUS Medical School ran a randomised trial and found that the labels did in fact nudge participants towards options with less sugar.

These labels have also reshaped the types of products that manufacturers are putting out. Last year, over two-thirds of pre-packaged drinks in the market were graded A or B, considered healthier choices, up from less than one- third five years ago, the health minister revealed.

Hence the Nutri-Grade label will be extended to four other product groups that will be graded A to D according to their sodium and saturated fat levels.

The greater transparency will no doubt prod health- conscious consumers towards making better choices. But the question is whether this is enough?

To their credit, the authorities have created a grading system that is easy to understand. However, such labels also risk being overly simplistic.

For example, the Duke- NUS researchers found that the label was not effective at reducing saturated fat purchased from prepackaged beverages because the underlying algorithm largely focuses on sugar. It concluded that additional measures beyond Nutri-Grade would be needed to improve overall diet quality in Singapore.

Perhaps it is time to consider making nutrition labels mandatory in Singapore. Every packaged food item would then carry a little fact box that contains a detailed breakdown of the carbohydrate, protein, fat and saturated fat content, as well as the mineral nutrients. Such labels are mandatory for most pre-packaged foods in many countries, including those in the European Union, Canada and Japan. In the United States, major chain restaurants are required to label their menu items as well.

In Singapore, nutrition labelling is required only when health claims are made. But it is arguably just as important for consumers to know what goes into food products that don’t make these claims, especially if they may be potentially unhealthy if consumed excessively. This would apply to snacks such as chips and cookies, especially local festive treats like pineapple tarts and murukku.

Of course, instituting mandatory nutrition labelling for local food manufacturers would surely increase compliance costs, but consider the benefits of doing so.

After all, it may also influence food producers to devise healthier ways to make their treats taste just as good, and that surely is a win-win for everyone, especially considering the long-term healthcare and societal cost savings that can be reaped.

Source: The Business Times © SPH Media Limited. Permission required for reproduction.