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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.
(Reporting by Aradhana Aravindan; Additional reporting by
Karishma Singh in SINGAPORE; Editing by Mark Potter)
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