Seven major drinks companies including
Coca-Cola and PepsiCo will limit the sugar content of drinks they
sell in Singapore, as part of the city-state's campaign to fight
diabetes.
Singapore is one of the first countries
in Asia to target sugary drinks, bringing it in line with many
Western nations that have sought to mitigate the health risks
associated with sugar through measures such as taxes and warning
labels.
Globally, beverage firms have been
reworking recipes, racing to cut sugar and introduced more options to
cater to increasingly health-conscious consumers.
On Tuesday, Singapore's ministry of
health said the seven firms had signed an industry pledge to remove
by 2020 drinks that contain more than 12 percent sugar from their
portfolios of sugar-sweetened beverages.
As well as Coca-Cola and PepsiCo, the
companies include F&N Foods, Malaysia Dairy Industries, Nestle,
Pokka [POKKA.UL] and Yeo Hiap Seng.
"In addition to this industry
commitment, Coca-Cola Singapore is making an additional commitment to
reduce the sugar content in our portfolio of sugar-sweetened
beverages by 10 percent by 2020," Coca-Cola said in an email to
Reuters.
It said it had been reducing sugar and
calories across many of its brands, and offering more new drinks with
low sugar content or no added sugar.
Daily sugar consumption per capita from
soft drinks has risen since 2010 to 6.08 grams in Asia-Pacific in
2016, with Singapore at 11.99 grams, according to market research
firm Euromonitor. Consumption has been trending lower in Europe and
the United States, but it is still higher than in Asia-Pacific.
"Governments in Asia are actively
promoting healthy consumption, such as Malaysia which launched its
Healthier Choices Logo in April 2017," said Euromonitor
International analyst Nathanael Lim. "Consumers also have an
increasing preference for beverages containing natural ingredients
with zero sugar."
The World Health Organization said last
year drinking fewer calorific sweet drinks was the best way to curb
excessive weight and prevent chronic diseases such as diabetes,
although fat and salt in processed foods were also to blame.
Among Asian countries, the Philippines
has slapped levies on sugar-sweetened beverages, while Indonesia and
India have been considering similar taxes.
Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien
Loong mentioned the drinks makers' agreement in a speech on Sunday,
in which he also urged people to drink water, eat wholemeal bread and
brown rice, but did provide details.
*SINGAPORE (Reuters)
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