Thailand expects cap on sugar content by 2018

The Food and Drug Administration said a bill to legislate for a maximum of 10% sugar and sweetener content in foods has been submitted to the government. It is expected to pass through parliament over the coming months.

Those operating with a higher proportion of sugar and sweeteners would be forced to pay higher taxes, said Tipvon Parinyasiri, director of the FDA’s Food Control Division, who was outlining the sugar control measures as part of a draft of the new Excise Act. 

There is currently no cap in Thailand, where food products often have a sugar content well into double figures. Such levels are far beyond what is available in EUrope, where sugar content is capped at 6%, Tipvon added.

The sugar control policy is part of a food safety project by the FDA that aims to encourage the public to pay more attention to nutrition labelling, said Poonlarp Chantavichitwong, deputy secretary-general of the FDA.

After several years of successful operation on the Vietnamese market Barentz International announces the establishment of an office in Ho Chi Minh City. The activities of Barentz Vietnam will focus on nutrition and quality enhancement within the Vietnamese food industry, where the nutritional premixes and functional blends from the company’s production facility Vitablend in Singapore will have a prominent role.