Thai must use less sugar
The Thai Ministry of Health has launched a campaign to encourage Thai people to consume less sugar.
Reader question: Do Thais love sweet and sugar?
When I'm in Thailand I always notice how sweet the desserts and drinks are. There is also often sugar on the table in a restaurant and it is even thrown into the soup, I have seen. Do they know in Thailand how bad all that sugar is and that you can get obesity and diabetes from it? Why are they so crazy about sugar, is there an explanation for that?
Food manufacturers are very lavish with sugar. Large amounts of sugar are added to many products such as breakfast cereals, muesli, dairy drinks, cereal bars, fruit juices and ready-to-use sauces. A bottle of ketchup contains no less than 45 sugar cubes. Too much sugar is unhealthy, it can lead to obesity and a greater risk of type 2 diabetes.
The Netherlands is one of the top 10 countries when it comes to sugar consumption. 77% of shoppers believe that sugar is addictive (to a greater or lesser extent). Yet people are not (yet) very critical of sugar when they are actually in the supermarket.
The share prices of many soft drinks companies fell on Friday due to fears about the new sugar excise. Only Tipco Foods closed higher. Sappe, Haap Thip and Sermsuk remained unchanged.
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in Thailand wants a new law to take effect this year that sets a maximum of 10 percent for the amount of sugar in foods. When producers exceed this limit, more tax is levied on the product.
Too much sugar is unhealthy, what does it do to you?
No less than 84% of the Dutch do not know exactly what to do to cut down on sugar. Sugar is hidden in many products and we are constantly tempted to make unhealthy choices with a lot of sugar. But what does sugar do to your body?
News from Thailand – September 8, 2013
Today in News from Thailand:
• Remains of Briton missing since 2012 found on Koh Chang
• Government does not yield to rice farmers' demands
• Don Mueang Terminal 2 will open in May 2014
Thai waistlines expand
Forty percent of Thai children under the age of six are overweight. In 2003 that percentage was 13,4. The culprits are known: junk food, snacks and soft drinks that contain a mountain of sugar. Young people spend about 10.000 baht on this every year. They are not or hardly aware of the risks: tooth decay and, later in life, cardiovascular disease, gout, high blood pressure and diabetes. Thais have a sweet tooth. For the past 14 years it has been…
Sugar cane, less sweet for the farmers
Besides the production of rice, sugar cane is a very important product for the Thai economy. The approximately fifty sugar factories generate an annual turnover of more than five hundred thousand million baht. The sugar industry is still growing and was included in the so-called “Thai kitchen of the World” program by the government a few years ago. Besides being an important export product, this agricultural activity is also very important for employment. It almost seems untrue, but about one and a half million people are…