“With sugar, we saw that labelling, advertising restrictions, working with industry reformulation and then, public education … worked well in shifting both supply – in terms of the products – and consumer demand,” said an HPB spokesperson.
“We are taking a leaf from that playbook but we recognise that sodium is very different, because it’s an intermediate ingredient that is added (to food), and that’s why we need more time to engage the industry,” the spokesperson added.
MOH and HPB said they had engaged over 80 manufacturers, F&B operators, retailers and distributors in April and May this year on possible measures to reduce consumers’ sodium and saturated fat intake.
“In the retail sector, many manufacturers have begun their reformulation journey, and are committed to doing more. In the F&B sector, tackling sodium and saturated fat content in dishes is more challenging, given the variability in added ingredients during cooking,” read the joint release.
“The F&B operators also highlighted that time would be needed for consumers to adjust their palates and accept lower-sodium dishes, and for operators to adopt healthier ingredients.”
According to HPB, 22 suppliers have leveraged its scheme to offer lower-sodium salt, sauces and seasonings as of June this year.
During a media briefing, HPB said it will conduct further consultations on the implementation details with the industry between September and the earlier part of next year. This includes the nutrient thresholds underpinning the Nutri-Grade measures to ensure that they are practicable and feasible.
“For sodium, we do need to look at the various types of ingredients and then assess what are reasonable thresholds,” said an HPB spokesperson, adding that this was more complicated than sugar or saturated fat.
“(For) sauces, seasoning … you have the full range from soy sauce, tomato sauce, oyster sauce, fish sauce … So cannot have the same threshold.
“Each category will need to have its own thresholds and … to ensure consistency and coherence between the Healthier Choice thresholds and the Nutri-Grade thresholds. Healthier Choice products must qualify for (a Nutri-Grade label of) ‘A’ or B’, in addition to other requirements.”
More details including the timeline for the rollout of the labelling scheme and compliance requirements will be announced when ready, said MOH and HPB.
“Broadly, I will say that industry … quoted us anywhere from three to five years (for the implementation of the Nutri-Grade measures), but it feels very long, so we will need to work with them to see if that can be accelerated,” said the HPB spokesperson.
Responding to questions from the media about whether the Nutri-Grade label will replace the existing Healthier Choice Symbol (HCS) – a label to help consumers identify healthier food products and ingredients – HPB said it would not as the two labels complement each other.
“The Nutri-Grade is really to steer consumers away so that they know that these are the ones that have higher sodium, sugar, (saturated) fat, and Healthier Choice typically tends to also encompass other things such as does it have wholegrains (or) calcium. So the two work in tandem.”
NUDGING CONSUMER DEMAND
Besides looking at measures to encourage manufacturers to reformulate their products and placing advertising restrictions, the authorities are also stepping up efforts to increase the availability of healthier dishes and to nudge consumer demand.
According to HPB, there is currently a good availability of healthier salt, sauces and seasonings as well as cooking oil in the market but adoption of these products remains low among consumers and F&B operators.
There are currently five suppliers of lower-sodium salt, who together cover half the market, while one in four sauce and seasoning products are lower in sodium.
Despite this, just 3 per cent of eateries used Healthier Choice symbol salt, sauce or seasoning alternatives as of June this year, said HPB.
Similarly, HPB said only 12 per cent of eateries use healthier cooking oil.
To promote greater adoption, HPB said it will ramp up voluntary labels for F&B operators who offer healthier food options to put on their store-front. This includes dishes made with healthier ingredients or are prepared with less salt or sauces.
The labels, which have the Healthier Choice symbol, identify F&B establishments under the Healthier Dining Programme. As of March, more than 3,100 F&B operators, hawker centres and coffee shops, with over 9,000 touchpoints and stalls island-wide have joined the programme, offering at least one healthier option in their menus.
HPB added that it has engaged 40 hawker centres to date to educate hawkers on the importance of reducing sodium, to give them samples of the lower sodium products that they can try in their cooking.
HPB said it aims to engage about 60 hawker centres this year, and another 50 hawker centres in 2025, covering a total of 110 hawker centres.
Editor’s note: Reference to pink Himalayan salt and sea salt as being lower sodium has been removed from this article. We apologise for the error.
