War on sodium and saturated fat: Sauces, instant noodles, cooking oil and more will have A to D grades

SINGAPORE — Singaporeans are over-indulging in salt, sauces and seasonings, instant noodles and cooking oil which can increase the risk of serious health issues such as heart attack and stroke.

So these products will soon have to display the nutritional grades seen on their sugary counterparts, to tell consumers at a glance how healthy they are.

Such products will be graded "A" to "D" — with D being the least healthy choice with the highest levels of sodium and/or saturated fat.

This follows the successful use of the mandatory Nutri-Grade label on prepackaged and freshly prepared beverages. Drinks that exceed a threshold of sweetness are graded "C" and "D", and there are also prohibitions on advertising such beverages that are grade "D".

As a result of the labelling and advertising restrictions, Singaporeans are eating less sugar now.

"Many producers have reformulated their beverages to… suit the newly evolved taste. Labeling, I believe, has shaped the palate of the population with regard to sugar. So last year, over two thirds of pre packaged beverages in the market were graded A and B, up from less than one-third five years ago," said Health Minister Ong Ye Kung in a speech at the World Organisation of Family Doctors Asia Pacific Regional Conference on Aug 22.

Welcoming the positive impact of the moves, the Ministry of Health (MOH) on Aug 22 said it will be extending Nutri-Grade labelling and advertising prohibitions to the four product groups — pre-packed salt, sauces and seasonings, instant noodles and cooking oil — the major culprits when it comes to the salt and saturated fat which people put in their mouths.

Since healthier alternatives such ingredients and foods are already available, they should be labelled, said Ong.

This means that, we should expect that, in time to come, we should expect soya sauce, chili sauce, sambal cans, cooking oil, instant noodles etc that are sold in supermarkets will carry Nutri-Grade labels," said Ong.

Many industry players have begun producing healthier alternatives. MOH said it will be conducting further consultations with the industry to work out the details, including the nutrient thresholds for the labelling, which will focus on sodium and saturated fat. It will provide ample time for the industry to adjust to the labelling rules.

Salt, also known as sodium chloride, is about 40 per cent sodium and 60 per cent chloride while saturated fat is a dietary fat that is typically solid at room temperature. Foods like butter, palm and coconut oils, cheese, and red meat have high amounts of saturated fat.

Too much salt in the diet can cause high blood pressure, increasing the risk of cardiovascular diseases, among others, while excessive dietary fat intake has been linked to increased risk of obesity, coronary heart disease and certain types of cancer.

In Singapore, the prevalence of hypertension in Singapore is rising, from 24 per cent to 37 per cent over the last five years. The prevalence of hyperlipidaemia (high cholesterol) is also worryingly high, with about a third of Singapore residents having the condition, said Ong.

Both conditions are significant risk factors for heart disease, and the two key nutrients that can lead to these diseases are sodium and saturated fat, and Singapore residents are over-consuming them, he said.

Singapore already has the Healthier Choice symbols for food. It covers over 100 food categories, such as beverages, sauces, rice and bread. For instance, there are over 500 lower-sodium sauces and seasonings labelled with the Healthier Choice symbol.

However, these are voluntary labels and they do not help consumers to identify the products that may be graded "C" and "D" under Nutri-Grade labelling.

The NutriGrade label, with it's alphabet categories, is easier for consumers to interpret the level of sugar, sodium or saturated fats, said Professor Teo Yik Ying, vice-president for Global Health and dean of the Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health at the National University of Singapore.

Beyond labelling the ingredients, Ong said they also want to help consumers identify eateries and stalls that produce healthy dishes. "We should adopt a voluntary approach, at least as a start," he said. Hence, eateries that use healthier ingredients or less salt or sauces can apply to HPB to display storefront labels to inform consumers of that.

Acknowledging that the move can reshape consumer behaviour and drive innovative product reformulation, the president of the Singapore Nutrition and Dietetics Association Kalpana Bhaskaran said consumers benefit when they know for sure if they have purchased a healthier product.

For instance, when it comes to cooking oils, advertisements can be misleading, she said. Having a mandatory labelling system will make it easier for consumers to choose a healthier product.

Dr Kalpana, who is the head of the Glycemic Index Research Unit at Temasek Polytechnic, also said the labelling for instant noodles will help to nudge the food manufacturers to reformulate their products to make them healthier.

Currently, less than five per cent of instant noodles are healthier choices.

Meanwhile, the Health Promotion Board (HPB) said it will further intensify its public education efforts. It has started a new programme in July 24 to not just educate hawkers on the need to cut down on sodium, but to offer them samples of lower-sodium products and connect them with the suppliers that are selling these products in the wholesale market,.

HPB said it has already engaged 40 hawker centres — out of a target of 60 this year, and will go to another 50 hawker centres in 2025.

HPB's market research shows that the sodium content of dishes went up by an average of 20 per cent between 2010 and 2023. About 31 per cent of dine-out dishes contain more than the daily recommended 2,000mg of sodium. For instance, a bowl of lor mee can have 3,524mg of sodium while a bowl of mee soto can have 3,657mg of sodium.

In reminding people to use less salt, sauces and seasoning, Health Minister Ong Ye Kung said recently that Singaporeans are equating saltiness with tastiness, but there is so much more to taste than just the level of seasoning.

The latest move in the war on salt comes as Singapore undertakes to steer the nation onto a path of prevention, so that citizens live longer, healthier lives and the burden on healthcare resources is reduced.

It was timed with MOH's Aug 22 release of the results of the 2023 National Population Health Survey, which showed that there was an increase in Singaporeans' total physical activity, among other improvements.

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This article was first published in The Straits Times. Permission required for reproduction.