SINGAPORE — In a bid to encourage food-and-beverage (F&B) operators to offer healthier drinks, two coffee-shop associations have pledged their support for a movement aimed at making beverages with less sugar the norm. To indicate they want less sugar, customers usually say "siew dai" (also sometimes spelt as "siu dai").

The Foochow Coffee Restaurant & Bar Merchants Association, and Kheng Keow Coffee Merchants Restaurant and Bar-Owners Association have both signed a joint statement of support, the Health Promotion Board (HPB) said on Friday (March 1).

The "Siu Dai by default" movement, which means less sweet in Cantonese and launched by HPB last September, complements the Nutri-Grade labels, which have been in place for freshly made beverages since Dec 30.

The movement encourages F&B operators to offer "freshly prepared beverages, such as coffee, tea or malted drinks with less sugar as the norm", said HPB.

The joint statement, which was signed at a dialogue on Feb 21, outlined the coffee-shop associations' commitment to advocate for the movement by working with its members to lower sugar content in drinks, it added. 

According to Singapore health platform HealthHub, a normal order of kopi (coffee) has four teaspoons of sugar, whereas kopi "siew dai" has 2.9 teaspoons of sugar.

Both associations said they would work with their members and strongly encourage them to offer beverages with less sugar, condensed milk and evaporated milk as a default.

They will also work with HPB to drive greater acceptance of "siew dai" beverages among consumers. 

"Having both associations and their members on board the 'Siu Dai by default' movement increases the availability and accessibility of (these) drinks," HPB said.

'SIU DAI' KITS

To facilitate preparation, HPB said that it has, to date, distributed 4,500 "siu dai" kits to drink stalls. They contain recipe cards for less sugar drink formulations and spoons for measuring the right "siew dai" sugar amount.

The stalls that are onboard the initiative can be identified by "siu dai" decals and wobblers displayed at storefronts.

There are more than 300 members under the Foochow Coffee Restaurant & Bar Merchants Association, while Kheng Keow Coffee Merchants Restaurant and Bar-Owners Association has more than 200 members.

They represent more than 50 per cent of coffeeshops in Singapore.

Both associations noted during the dialogue that more consumers are "requesting for siew dai or kosong (no sugar) drinks".

They also "highlighted the need for continued public education on the 'Siu Dai by default' movement so that more consumers are aware and will demand for such lower sugar options".

While Health Minister Ong Ye Kung acknowledged last September that this is a "matter of consumer habits and choice", freshly made beverages with less sugar should be "the new norm and default".

"That means if we order kopi or teh (tea) in the future. they are automatically siew dai," he then said.

"If you want more sugar, you have to order kopi ga dai (coffee with more sugar) or teh ga dai (tea with more sugar). If you want even less sugar, you might as well order kosong (no sugar)." 

"Put the sugar at your stall, and if somebody wants to add sugar, let them add. But serve it with less sugar as a default."

TOTAL SUGAR INTAKE HAS GONE DOWN

HPB noted that sugar-sweetened beverages are the single biggest source of dietary sugar in Singapore, adding that more than half of Singaporeans' daily sugar intake was from beverages.

This include drinks containing added sugar and juices with naturally occurring sugars, of which 59 per cent comes pre-packaged and 41 per cent freshly prepared.

"Excessive intake of sugar is linked to an increased risk of obesity and chronic conditions such as diabetes and heart disease," said HPB.

Since the announcement of the Nutri-Grade labelling in October 2019, the total sugar intake has gone down from 60g in 2018 to 56g in 2022. 

While noting that "individuals themselves must make healthier drink choices", HPB urged more F&B operators to join the “Siu Dai by default” initiative as that would help increase the availability and accessibility of healthier beverages. CNA