Not so straightforward: Singapore food industry voices concerns over cost, efficacy of extending Nutri-Grade system to sodium and fats
Singapore’s Nutri-Grade system has been in place for sugar content in packaged and freshly prepared beverages since 2023, and in August this year the local Ministry of Health (MOH) announced that it would be extending to ‘key contributors’ of sodium and saturated fats.
“The Nutri-Grade measures have led to reductions in the median sugar level of beverages in the market and total sugar intake among Singapore residents,” MOH had said via a formal statement.
“Overall, the median sugar level of prepacked Nutri-Grade beverages has reduced from 7.1% in 2017 to 4.6% as of September 2023 [and similarly] as of September 2023, 69% of beverages purchased were graded ‘A’ or ‘B’, up from 37% in 2017.
“Looking at the positive impact of Nutri-Grade labelling and advertising prohibitions in lowering Singaporeans' sugar intake, we will be extending the two measures to key contributors of sodium and saturated fat in the retail setting: prepacked salt, sauces and seasonings; instant noodles; and cooking oil.
“We will likely retain the key features of the existing Nutri-Grade measures and will be conducting further consultations with the industry over the coming months.”
Stakeholders in the Singapore food industry will be participating in these consultations, but current general sentiment circulates around implementation concerns as well as efficacy.
“The food industry remains committed to supporting the government in its task of ensuring healthier lifestyles for all in Singapore - Front-of-pack nutrition labelling can be a tool that aids consumers in making informed dietary decisions, however it is imperative that a science-based approach is taken,” industry representative body Food Industry Asia (FIA) told FoodNavigator-Asia.
“Products must also be fairly assessed and portrayed, the timeline required (four to six years years) for successful reformulation and consumer palate adjustment must be duly considered, and food and packaging waste must be minimised.
“Learnings must be taken from the application of Nutri-Grade to beverages, particularly in terms of the need for public education on the scheme to prevent consumer confusion [and] it is essential to leverage upon the food industry’s knowledge for the extension to be successful in contributing to improved public health.”
Kovac also highlighted that the manner of consumption for salt and oil products tends to be very different from that of sugar, so a direct extension or application of the previous scheme may not be the most efficacious.
“It is also important to consider that salt, sauces, seasonings and oil tend to only be present in small amounts in a dish [or product] alongside the main ingredients, with the amounts added varying depending on the discretion of the consumer or chef,” he said.
“These differences in consumption practices to beverages may render the extension of the current Nutri-Grade scheme ineffective in terms of assisting consumers to choose healthier options in this instance.
“Salt does not simply enhance flavour, it has multiple uses, such as retaining moisture and as a preservative [so] reformulating products to contain lower levels will not only impact taste but could impact food safety and shelf-life, adding further complexity to reformulation.”
Singapore healthier snacks brand Hey! Chips also questioned what criteria the ‘key contributors’ would be graded on.
“The question is wonder how they grade things like salt (for sodium) and cooking oil (for saturated fats) which are in essence very basic products,” Founder and CEO Emily Chu told us.
“Grading oil seems dangerous as a high saturated fat oil like, say, coconut oil may score high in terms of saturated fat but actually be nutritious in other ways.”
“With particular regard to snacks, a lot of snacks that claim to be healthy or are healthy-looking are flooding the market in recent years, and it’s quite hard for consumers to decipher which one is really healthy - For instance, a lot of traditional snacks on supermarket shelves are getting smaller and smaller in packaging size.
“So a labelling system is welcomed by the industry and by us, [but] right now, the government hasn’t developed a framework for our type of chips which is not potato chips or starchy chips but instead dried fruit and vegetable snacks – this is a space that has not really been studied.”
Cost concerns
It was also pointed out that the cost of reformulation will be much more significant for the industry and could both take longer and increase end-product prices as a result.
“Lower-sodium alternatives, like potassium chloride (KCl), were previously ten times more expensive than regular salt [but] this decreased to four times that of regular salt thanks to industry grant support in 2023,” he said.
“However, other ingredient solutions that provide optimal balanced taste profiles could result in costs that are approximately 20-30 times higher, depending on the level of saltiness required.
“For a 25% to 50% sodium reduction, costs are estimated to raise [product] prices by 10% to 20% depending on category - a proportion of these costs may need to be passed on to the consumer, which may impact the likelihood of consumers switching to lower sodium alternatives.”
