The government is set to identify local “high sugar” drinks that need labeling on its estimated sugar content. This move towards transparency is aimed at cautioning consumers and eventually cutting down consumption of sugary drinks among Filipinos.
Department of Trade and Industry Secretary Ramon M. Lopez said Wednesday that he was meeting the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in the morning and private stakeholders in the afternoon to thresh out the rules and hear concerns from drink manufacturers.
“We will select the products that will be included and what kind of warning will be included in the label,” Mr. Lopez told reporters in Pasay City on Wednesday.
“The policy… emanated from discussion with the president who commented na dapat warningan ang consumer about dun,” he added.
The agency proposed to the FDA, which crafts rules on the labeling of products, that the warning include the estimated sugar content — in grams — on a per serving basis instead of the current standard in which a drink’s sugar level per pack is shown.
The agencies will be reviewing all forms of sugary drinks, namely ready-to-drink, powdered, and concentrated. The release of the list of firms that will be mandated to follow will be out “quick.”
While Mr. Lopez noted that the implementation period will take time, he says two months may suffice for manufacturers to transition. As such, the DTI expects them to have all products prior to the effectivity period of the new rule already consumed and the firms, compliant, come August. — Janina C. Lim

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