"We encourage the food industry to reformulate (product content) by reducing the SSF content in food according to the limits that have been set," the ministry's Acting Director General of Disease Prevention and Control, Yudhi Pramono, remarked here on Monday.
At a hearing with the House of Representatives, he noted that the Ministry of Health continues to educate the public about SSF consumption.
The government recommends that daily sugar consumption should not exceed 50 grams, salt content to not be above 200 mg, and fat intake to not surpass 67 grams per person.
Purnomo remarked that consuming above those limits per day can increase the risk of hypertension, diabetes, and heart attack.
In addition to encouraging the reduction of SSF content, the Ministry of Health encourages the domestic food industry to provide food and beverage products that are lower in sugar, fat, and salt at schools, workplaces, supermarkets, restaurants, and other public spaces.
The ministry also conducts social education to change people's consumption behavior and promotes healthy diet campaigns on a massive scale.
"Then, the ministry also pushes the front of package labeling on every product that contains sugar, salt, and fat," Purnomo affirmed.
He drew attention to another strategy wherein the Health Ministry also issued policies to regulate the SSF content, set the maximum limit of SSF, and established a fiscal policy to reduce excessive SSF consumption.
"We also encourage restrictions on advertisement airtime and location of foods that are high in SSF," he remarked.
The GlobalData Consumer Survey in June 2021 showed that Indonesia is the country with the highest consumption rate of packaged sweetened beverages in the Asia Pacific.
Excessive consumption of packaged sweetened beverages can increase the risk of obesity, diabetes, hypertension, and death due to coronary heart disease.
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Translator: Tri A, Kenzu
Editor: Azis Kurmala
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