THE rise in foods and drinks containing quite high levels of sugar, salt and fat (GGL) which can harm health means that people need to be more careful and aware of the dangers that can arise from frequently consuming foods and drinks high in GGL.
Director of Postgraduate Studies at YARSI University/Professor of the Faculty of Medicine, University of Indonesia (UI) Prof. Tjandra Yoga Aditama said that there is a need for reformulation or rearranging the formula of packaged foods sold to the public.
“This re-arrangement is certainly aimed at providing healthier food and drinks, with a formula that has GGL levels in accordance with basic health principles,” said Tjandra in his statement, Thursday (11/7).
The 2021 ASEAN Leaders’ Declaration has stated that ASEAN countries prioritize the reformulation and production of healthier food and beverages.
This is an important strategy that needs to be implemented to achieve the maximum health potential of ASEAN communities by promoting healthy lifestyles and ensuring health and well-being for all age groups, especially by consuming healthy and nutritionally balanced food and drinks.
Another effort is the inclusion of labels on the packaging that clearly explain how much GGL is contained in it. Of course, the label must be large enough and easy for consumers to read.
Also read: Excessive Consumption of Sugar, Salt and Fat Triggers Heart Disease
This is also done by realizing minimum standards and guidelines in designing labels called the Front-of-Pack (FoP) label system, and this follows international guidelines, such as the WHO Guiding principles and framework manual for front-of-pack labeling for promoting a healthy diet which was issued in 2019.
“The goal is to provide better information for consumers to choose healthier food and beverage products,” he explained.
The last effort is excise for certain food products, especially those with sugar and salt fat content that can potentially harm health. In this case, ASEAN countries agreed to share good and innovative experiences on health budgets and the use of excise to promote healthy lifestyles and control programs for Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs).
Also read: Reduce Snacking Habits Can Prevent Obesity
“It was also stated that ASEAN countries agreed to form fiscal policy rules once morest unhealthy food and beverages,” he said.
Every day, people are served food and drinks that are high in GGL, and of course they really hope that the food and drink products that people consume are healthy, especially those containing sugar, salt and fat levels that are in accordance with existing health guidelines.
“It is the government’s obligation to ensure that the food and beverage products sold are healthy for the nation,” he concluded.
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