Nutri-Level: Government's New Weapon in Curbing Sugar-Related Deaths

The Ministry of Health and the National Agency of Drug and Food Control have officially issued nutri-level labelling on packaged beverage products to control sugar consumption in society. Health Minister Budi Gunadi Sadikin stressed that this step is taken to suppress the number of chronic disease cases in the productive age group due to excessive sugar consumption, which is predicted to trigger a surge in kidney failure cases in the future. Given its catastrophic impact, the government sees that preventive measures must be taken by building public awareness of the dangers of non-communicable diseases such as cardiovascular to diabetes. The application of nutri-level labels is considered an easy, cheap, yet massive step. These consumption standards can be more easily explained to the public through the use of nutri-level labels attached to various packaged foods and drinks.