Duterte concerned about lack of warning labels on sugary beverages

President Rodrigo Duterte is worried about the lack of health warning labels on packaging of sugary drinks, Trade Secretary Ramon Lopez said Wednesday.

Lopez also said that the chief executive is pushing  for "truth in advertising and labeling" —like what is being done with cigarettes.

Energy drinks, soft drinks, and powdered drinks may be covered by the plan with the government eyeing to iron out the implementation of the President's directive in the next one or two months.

"It will have to be the FDA (Food and Drug Administration) of the DOH (Department of Health) that will really execute this particular policy but as we develop that we'll have to discuss with stakeholders," Lopez said at a news conference in Malacañang.

Touted by the government in part as a health measure, the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion (TRAIN) Law mandates a P6-per-liter tax on beverages using caloric and non-caloric sweeteners, and P12 per liter on beverages using high-fructose corn syrup.

Exempted from the provision on excise tax on sweetened beverages are all milk and milk-based products, ground and 3-in-1 coffee, 100 percent natural fruit and vegetable juices, meal replacement and medically indicated beverages, and beverages sweetened by coco sugar or stevia.

Following the implementation of the law in January, consumer data analytics company Nielsen said the sales of sugar-sweetened beverages had been declining over the past years but the rate of decline went faster in February.

Nielsen Retail Index data show that the sales volume of sugary drinks in sari-sari stores declined 8.7 percent in February 2018 from the 4.4 percent registered in the same month in 2017.

Powdered juice and powdered tea have posted double-digit declines.

Nielsen said the accelerated rate of decline reflected the consumers’ typical reaction following a price increase.

"Over time, some consumers may go back to old buying habits while some will adopt their new buying patterns," Nielsen Philippines managing director John Patrick Cua said in a statement in April. —LBG, GMA News