Jakarta (ANTARA) – Indonesia’s Deputy Health Minister Dante Saxono Halbuwono plans to follow Singapore in regulating packaged sweetened beverages (MBDK) in Indonesia.
“In Singapore, food and beverages are categorized as A, B, C and D, with A being the ) It was the worst.” .
Mr Halbuwono believed that if such measures were taken in Indonesia, it would help the people choose the best foods to purchase, as Singaporeans are doing.
“In the future, we will also create labels for them. The classification will be determined by the content of salt, sugar and fat in the package,” he elaborated.
Mr Halbuwono pointed out that the regulation was very helpful for Singapore in solving its diabetes problem, where studies estimate that there will be 1 million diabetic patients by 2030.
“On the other hand, 10 percent of the population suffers from diabetes. If we have a population of 280 million, that means 28 million of the population has diabetes,” he said.
Related news: Ministry to ratify excise tax regulations on sweetened beverages this year
Therefore, his side also plans to impose an excise tax on MBDK in 2024. This regulation has now been disseminated and the amount of applicable excise tax is currently being coordinated with stakeholders, including the Ministry of Finance.
“We will implement this as soon as possible. There are no major obstacles. We have carried out academic research, so once it is signed, it will be ratified immediately,” Halbuwono said.
According to Mr Harubwono, the imposition of excise tax on MBDK is one of the government’s efforts to reduce the risk of non-communicable diseases caused by the consumption of MBDK.
He also stated that he hopes all concerned parties will work together to realize this regulation in order to reduce the intake of sugar, which is one of the causes of diabetes.
According to the ministry’s data, 28.7 percent of Indonesians have a pattern of consuming more than the limit on sugar, salt and fat.
Related news: Taxing sweetened beverages could reduce consumption by 24%: CISDI