Sweet! Appetite for salt, sugar declines

The policy promoting the reduction of salt and sugar is seeing results, Secretary for Food and Health Sophia Chan Siu-chee says, as restaurants report that more and more customers are ordering food with less of the two condiments.

Chan, writing on her blog, said the government has cooperated with an online restaurant search platform since 2019. And it was found that the number of people looking for eateries providing food with less salt and sugar grew 87 percent this year. The platform has also seen about 23.5 million searches for restaurants providing less salt and sugar per month, she said.

The government conducted a survey on the "Less Sugar Friday" program in 2020 and found that 74 percent of 633 customers interviewed would choose no sugar or less sugar when buying tea beverages.

A sample survey at the end of last year through the assistance of tertiary students showed that public awareness of less salt and less sugar diets has improved.

Chan said the results achieved so far are only a small part of the overall aim and that the "less salt and sugar" eating habits have to persevere.

"But I am confident that, through the government's policy, participation of the [catering] sector and support of the public, we will have a healthy society which fully achieves the less salt and sugar goal," she said.

The plan to control noncommunicable diseases in Hong Kong published in May 2018 had set nine local targets, three of which were related to salt and sugar reduction, including reducing daily per capita sodium intake by 30 percent in mean population by 2025, stopping the deterioration of diabetes and obesity and curbing the increase in the prevalence of hypertension.

The targets help Hongkongers achieve World Health Organization standards for salt and sugar consumption levels in 10 years' time. The WHO wants to limit salt intake to less than five grams per day and free-sugar intake to less than 10 percent of total energy intake.

grace.to@singtaonewscorp.com