The Health Ministry’s policy of graded labelling for sugar, salt and fat content in beverages has been met with doubt by consumers and small business owners, who question its implementation and whether it would effectively influence dietary habits.
The policy, stipulated in a ministerial regulation issued in April, pushes the nutrition label, called Nutri-Level, to be applied on menus and packaging of freshly prepared beverages sold in drink outlets and restaurants.
It classified drinks from A to D level accompanied by colour codes based on the percentage of sugar, salt and fat content per 100ml.
Rizky, 31, who likes cafe hopping, said he supports the policy and hopes the label will encourage people to pay closer attention to what they consume and raise awareness on their daily dietary choices.
However, he questioned whether the graded labelling system could be implemented consistently and accurately, noting that reliable nutritional assessments require proper laboratory testing.
“I am concerned about the possibility that some brands could display favourable Nutri-Level ratings on their products without proper testing, because accurate measurements require additional costs and effort,” he said.
Syahrul, a 57-year-old coffee shop owner in Depok, West Java, argued the policy could be difficult to be implemented by small businesses.
“I always offer customers a choice of sugar levels from regular to reduced sugar,” he said.
“Even without nutrition grading labels, my customers are already aware of what they are consuming. Nutri-Level labels may be more difficult to implement than expected.”
The Nutri-Level is currently not mandated, pending another regulation formalising the nutrition label. Businesses are given a two-year transition period to adapt.
Health Ministry’s noncommunicable diseases prevention and control director Siti Nadia Tarmizi said the labelling system was intended as one of several measures to encourage healthier lifestyles, rather than a single solution aimed at changing people’s dietary habits.
The long-term goal is to reduce the number of people with noncommunicable diseases such as diabetes, heart disease, kidney failure and stroke. Such diseases commonly occur among older adults but are now increasingly affecting younger people.
“Nutri-Level is primarily an ‘educational’ tool,” Siti said.
“We encourage businesses to display the labels, but there is currently no specific target for the number of food and beverage businesses expected to adopt the system.” — The Jakarta Post/ANN
