{"id":167460,"date":"2018-06-20T08:12:08","date_gmt":"2018-06-20T12:12:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/?p=167460"},"modified":"2018-06-20T08:12:08","modified_gmt":"2018-06-20T12:12:08","slug":"duterte-wants-warning-labels-on-sugary-drinks","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/2018\/06\/20\/duterte-wants-warning-labels-on-sugary-drinks\/","title":{"rendered":"Duterte wants warning labels on sugary drinks"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"According<\/a>
According to Lopez, Duterte wanted truth in labeling since powdered juices were sometimes given as gifts to the elderly and the sick. (Pixabay photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

MANILA<\/strong>\u00a0— Filipinos who are fond of drinking powdered juice might want to think twice the next time they purchase this sugar-sweetened beverage in the groceries.<\/p>\n

Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) Secretary Ramon Lopez on Wednesday said that health warnings, similar to those used in cigarettes, may soon be placed on sugar-sweetened beverages.<\/p>\n

Lopez bared that it was President Rodrigo R. Duterte himself who thought of this initiative after learning that most powdered juices contain high levels of sugar and could pose health risks such as obesity, diabetes, and heart disease.<\/p>\n

\u201cMay directive ang Presidente na kailangan may warning itong mga sugar-sweetened beverages<\/em>\u00a0(The President has a directive that there should be warnings on sugar sweetened beverages),\u201d Lopez said in a Palace briefing.<\/p>\n

According to Lopez, Duterte wanted truth in labeling since powdered juices were sometimes given as gifts to the elderly and the sick.<\/p>\n

\u201cNag-worry yung Presidente, \u2018so papaano yan, \u2018yan pa naman usually yung pinang-reregalo sa may sakit<\/em>\u00a0(The President was worried saying, \u2018how is that? That\u2019s usually what they give to the sick),\u201d Lopez said.<\/p>\n

\u201cKung<\/em>\u00a0(If there\u2019s) high sugar,\u00a0ilagay sa harap na<\/em>\u00a0(it should be labeled in front) \u2018containing high sugar\u2019\u00a0so para bang<\/em>\u00a0(it\u2019s similar to cigarette\u2019s) \u2018it can be dangerous to your health,\u2019\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

Consult with stakeholders<\/strong><\/p>\n

Lopez said that the DTI will be issuing the order to place health warnings on sugar-sweetened beverages after consulting with stakeholders, to identify which particular products contain high levels of sugar in their ingredients, as many consumers do not read food labels.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ll issue the necessary order in that regard but we\u2019ll have to talk again to the stakeholders as we implement that directive from the President,\u201d Lopez said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe will have to select kung ano talaga dito, especially kung ang may ingredient is talagang sugar and<\/em>\u00a0(We will have to select which among these products, especially if the ingredient is really sugar and) it\u2019s not really clear on that product. Many people\u00a0hindi po tumitingin sa likod, ‘yung ingredients<\/em>\u00a0(don\u2019t check the ingredients at the back),\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

Moreover, he said that his agency will also be coordinating with concerned agencies including the Department of Health (DOH) and its attached agency, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).<\/p>\n

\u201cBeyond the labeling requirements, there can be also part of the label such warning. It will have to be with the FDA of the DOH that will really execute this particular policy or ruling\u00a0kasi under sa kanila yung mga labeling<\/em>\u00a0(because they are in charge of labeling),\u201d Lopez said.<\/p>\n

Lopez also said that the DTI will need one or two months to facilitate the implementation of the President\u2019s directive.<\/p>\n

Asked if the President had any health concerns, which might have pushed him to suggest warnings on sugar-sweetened beverages, Lopez said that Duterte did not have any.<\/p>\n

\u201cWala. Ako meron. Pero si Presidente wala. Hindi napag-usapan yung diabetes<\/em>\u00a0(None. But I do. The President doesn\u2019t have any health concerns. We did not get to talk about diabetes),\u201d Lopez said.<\/p>\n

Sugar-sweetened beverages are among the products slapped with excise tax under the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion (TRAIN) law.<\/p>\n

An excise rate of PHP6 per liter will be taxed on drinks containing caloric or non-caloric sweetener, and PHP12 per liter on drinks containing high-fructose corn syrup.<\/p>\n

Aside from powdered juice, common examples of sugar-sweetened products include carbonated beverages, and sports and energy drinks.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

MANILA\u00a0— Filipinos who are fond of drinking powdered juice might want to think twice the next time they purchase this …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":33,"featured_media":167461,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1145,16,95],"tags":[12337,2444,5588],"class_list":["post-167460","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-headline","category-news","category-news-ph","tag-ramon-lopez","tag-rodrigo-duterte","tag-sugar","mauthors-azer-parrocha","mauthors-philippine-news-agency"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/167460","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/33"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=167460"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/167460\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/167461"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=167460"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=167460"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=167460"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}