Media reports from Singapore claim its government will introduce health warnings on packaging and ban advertising for sugary drinks across all media platforms, including online and social media in the “next few years” .

The senior minister of state for law and health Edwin Tong, from the Ministry of Health, allegedly made the announcement at the Singapore Health & Biomedical Congress 2019 on 10 October, but Food & Drink Business has not been able to verify this by press time.

In a report on the government’s website, the government will introduce a colour-coded labelling system to give consumers an indication of how much sugar a drink contains. Those with the poorest grade will be affected by the advertising ban.

Coffee, tea or bubble tea – where the sugar content is determined by customers – initially won’t be affected, but Tong reportedly said they will eventually come under scrutiny.

A spokesperson for Coca-Cola Amatil told Food & Drink Business it was not aware of a similar plan being advanced by the Australian Government.

“There is a lot happening in Australia with labelling and the health star rating system, with much discussion about more government action, which we support. Our consumers tell us their biggest concern is around labelling, that without information about the product they can’t make an informed choice,” he said.

Managing director of corporate advisory firm Futureye Katherine Teh told Food & Drink Business the response spoke to the number of unanswered concerns there are about sugary drinks.