SINGAPORE: As part of the war on diabetes, a new colour-coded “front-of-pack” nutrition label will be made mandatory for pre-packaged beverages that are high in sugar, announced the Health Ministry on Thursday (Oct 10).

A ban on advertising will also be imposed on beverages that are deemed the most unhealthy and graded the lowest on the nutrition label.

The ban will apply across all local mass media platforms, including broadcast, print, outdoor advertising and online channels such as social media websites. 

The move will “greatly reduce” consumers’ exposure to such advertisements, said Senior Minister of State for Health Edwin Tong.

READ: That cup of fresh fruit juice could contain as much sugar as a soft drink

READ: Diabetes risk, weight gain: The possible bitter effects of too many sugary drinks

Each beverage will be assigned a summary grade based on its nutritional quality, where sugar content will be the main but not the only determinant. Factors like the amount of fat and trans-fat in the drink will also be taken into account. 

The label will apply to all pre-packaged sugar-sweetened beverages, including soft drinks, energy drinks, juices, malted drinks, flavoured milk and cultured milk drinks. 

The Ministry of Health (MOH) said it aims to help consumers identify less healthy beverages and to make more informed choices with the new nutrition label.

“It also encourages manufacturers to reformulate sugar-sweetened beverage products,” the ministry said. 

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The thresholds for how the drinks will be graded have yet to be decided. The ministry said it will consult healthcare experts on the matter.

Over the next few months, the ministry and the Health Promotion Board (HPB) will conduct consumer focus group discussions on the design of the label, as well as gather feedback from beverage manufacturers and the advertising industry on how the two measures can be implemented. 

Details will be announced in the first half of 2020.

OTHER MEASURES ON THE TABLE

These measures come after an eight-week long public consultation held by MOH and HPB between December 2018 and January 2019, with members of the public, health professionals, academia and representatives from beverage manufacturers and the advertising industry. 

A total of 84 per cent of 4,000 respondents supported mandatory front-of-label packaging, and 71 per cent supported the regulation of advertising, MOH said. 

Just 65 per cent supported a tax to encourage manufacturers to reformulate and reduce the sugar level in their drinks, and 48 per cent called for a ban on the sale of beverages that are higher in sugar.

These last two options are still on the table, although they are “more complex measures that require further study”, MOH said.

“This is still on the agenda and we intend to study this more carefully,” said Mr Tong. “We want to find measures that are, in the long term, sustainable that not just shapes market consumption behaviour but also on the supply side, to drive reformulation.”

SINGAPOREANS STILL CONSUMING TOO MUCH SUGAR

According to the ministry, Singaporeans consume 12 teaspoons of sugar daily, and more than half of this comes from sugar-sweetened beverages, of which 64 per cent are pre-packaged. This is above the World Health Organization’s recommendation of five to 10 teaspoons of free sugars per day. 

The average sugar content of such beverages also has not declined in the past 10 years, and remains high at five teaspoons per 250ml, MOH said. 

Ms Izabela Kerner, president of the Singapore Nutrition and Dietetics Association, said the daily intake of free sugars should not exceed 10 per cent of total energy intake, which translates to nine and 11 teaspoons of sugar per day for an average Singaporean female and male respectively.

READ: Sweeter than soda? The hidden sugars in bubble tea

On the Government’s new measures targeting pre-packaged drinks, Ms Kerner noted that freshly prepared or made-to-order drinks options like bubble tea are also popular, especially among younger Singaporeans.

“Consumers might not even be aware of the high sugar content in bubble teas as there is no clear nutritional information to make informed choices. Therefore, public education and awareness are crucial to drive behaviour change towards reduction in sugar intake,” she said.

Currently, HPB’s Healthier Choice symbol appears on 2,600 different food products, including beverages, convenience meals and breakfast cereals. Beverages that contain about three teaspoons of sugar per 250ml are eligible to carry the symbol. 

Deputy CEO of Pokka International Daniel Teo said more than 50 per cent of its products are within HPB’s Healthier Choice range.

“As for the other products, we continue to have our R&D team review them to reformulate where possible. Some are more challenging as in natural fruit sugars that is found in all juices from all brands,” he said.

Mr Teo added that Pokka does not have “severe concerns” because most of its products have the Healthier Choice symbol, and for those that do not, he does not believe they will fall in the worst grade of the new labelling scheme.

READ: 7 major soft drinks manufacturers in Singapore to reduce sugar content in drinks

Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, in his National Day Rally speech in 2017, described diabetes as a “very serious” problem.

According to Dr Kevin Tan, president of Diabetes Singapore, 11 per cent of Singaporeans aged 18 to 69 have diabetes, and 14 per cent of Singaporeans in the same age group have pre-diabetes.

He said “not all sugar consumption can be regulated”, and added that “concurrent education”, in line with MOH’s efforts, would help the public to recognise and reduce sugars in freshly prepared drinks and food as well.

SINGAPORE: A ban on personal mobility devices (PMDs) is not immediately necessary and the Transport Ministry will do “what it takes” to keep footpaths safe, the Senior Minister of State for Transport Dr Janil Puthucheary said on Wednesday (Oct 9).

The minister had said in Parliament on Monday that if the behavior of PMD riders did not improve, the authorities “may have no choice but to ban their usage completely from Singapore”. 

The death of 65-year-old cyclist Madam Ong Bee Eng following a crash with a PMD rider two weeks ago had sparked public alarm over the dangers that the devices pose to others, he noted. 

In an interview with CNA938, Dr Janil said that while PMDs can improve first-and-last mile connectivity and are useful if used responsibly, the majority of footpath users are pedestrians, who need to be assured they can use the footpaths safely.

“The vast majority of PMD users are indeed responsible, and I think we shouldn’t straightaway have a knee-jerk reaction because of a small number of people who have behaved badly,” Dr Janil said.

Building the necessary infrastructure – such as separate paths for pedestrians as well as cyclists and PMD riders – will take some time, he noted.  

“But while we’re doing that, we need safe footpaths, and we’ll do what it takes to get those footpaths safe,” he said.

“We don’t particularly think a ban is what we need to do right now, but it’s part of our consideration and it’s something that we have as a tool, if it becomes necessary.”

In the meantime, he noted the Government is progressively rolling out several initiatives – such as requiring registration of e-scooters and providing incentives for the disposal of PMDs that do not meet the UL2272 fire-safety standard.

READ: LTA’s S$100 incentive for early disposal of non-compliant e-scooters: What you need to know

READ: Slow start to LTA’s early disposal incentive for e-scooters that don’t meet fire safety standards

It is also considering measures such as requiring riders to be licensed and making insurance mandatory, he added.

“We will then be able to look at and control devices, riders and behaviour, as a result of which we hope to make everything safer,” the minister said.

Many of the processes will be in place by the middle of next year, he said, adding that “quite a lot of devices” will have gone through the registration process by then.

The width of most pavements here were designed mainly for pedestrians, said National University of Singapore transport economist Timothy Wong, who was also part of the radio interview.

He said Singapore needs to work towards creating separate lanes for pedestrians and cyclists and PMD riders, because it is “just too difficult” to have them using the same footpaths.

Once the infrastructure is in place, accidents happening will be “less of a concern”, he added.

BOISE, Idaho: If you could only see inside the Republic of Singapore Air Force’s (RSAF) A330 multi-role tanker transport (MRTT), you’d be forgiven for thinking you were in a commercial airplane.

There are business and economy class seats, safety cards in the seat pockets and a pre-flight safety briefing by RSAF airmen complete with seat belt and life vest demonstrations.

On Tuesday (Oct 8), reporters were taken for a flight aboard the MRTT on the sidelines of Exercise Forging Sabre in Idaho, where the tanker is refuelling fighter jets in the air so they can fly longer missions and take out more enemies in a single sortie.

About midway through the three-hour flight, when the MRTT refuelled three F-16 and two F-15SG fighter jets, the pilot announced that passengers should buckle up because he was about to attempt “some manoeuvres”.

The seat belt sign turned on, and soon the whole commercial airplane vibe quickly vanished.

What followed was a stomach-churning series of sharp 45-degree banks and 90-degree turns designed to evade the enemy. The almost aerobatic stunts exerted a hard gravitational force that pushed on the stomach and pulled on the face, before releasing and creating a weightless, heart-dropping feeling.

It was a roller-coaster flight that had some reporters cheering but others reaching for their puke bags and rushing to the lavatory. 

But it was necessary because the MRTT is more than just a glorified Airbus A330. It operates behind the scenes yet plays a crucial role on the battlefield, transporting troops and cargo while keeping fighter jets flying in the sky.

The MRTT can also carry more fuel, cargo and passengers than its predecessor, the KC-135, and uses technology to make air-to-air refuelling easier and more efficient. It is a high-value asset that can make or break a mission.

READ: Exercise Forging Sabre: Apache, fighter pilots get enemy data faster with help of AI

“Once (enemies) take us down, (us) being a force multiplier, it significantly affects the air campaign,” said Major (MAJ) Victor Ong, 36, detachment commander of the 112 Squadron which flies the MRTT.

MORE FUEL, CARGO AND PASSENGERS

When the MRTT is not carrying passengers or cargo, it can hold 111,000kg of jet fuel, enough to fill the internal fuel tanks of about 35 F-16s. This is 20 per cent more than what the KC-135 could carry.

“How the tanker fits into this whole puzzle is it allows the fighters to go even further and stay (airborne) even longer, so you have that time and space to move them around if you require them to do so,” MAJ Ong said.

The MRTT can also carry up to 266 passengers or 37,000kg of cargo, a big upgrade on the KC-135 which could ferry about 60 people and a “limited” amount of cargo.

MAJ Ong said this helps when sending fighter jets to an exercise overseas, when the RSAF would previously require more aircraft to carry cargo and passengers. “Now, we can all put them into one depending on what’s the configuration (of the MRTT),” he added.

EASIER AIR-TO-AIR REFUELLING

The benefits extend to crew on the MRTT who conduct the air-to-air refuelling.

They sit in the cockpit behind the pilots, monitoring a video feed and using joysticks to extend and move a boom that transfers fuel to the fighter jets. The fighters come in from the rear, and both aircraft hold steady close to each other, but not too close, as the boom snaps in place.

It is not without difficulty. The fighter jets can find it challenging to get into position, considering the size of the boom and the aerodynamic forces it creates. It is a delicate process that requires coordination, subtle adjustments and skill.

“It’s a very different scenario each time,” said air refuelling operator First Sergeant (1SG) Jonathan Augustine, 26. “It’s us plus the receiver both trying to get into that good position. So it’s a lot of reacting as well as predicting at the same time when you’re going for contact.”

The MRTT tries to overcome this by making the video feed three-dimensional, offering crew a better perception of depth. There are also three smaller screens giving a panoramic view of the rear and infrared cameras for night refuelling.

Once contact is established, the MRTT has a mechanism which automatically keeps the boom aligned with the fighter jet, freeing crew to focus on additional requests and situational awareness during refuelling.

In contrast, crew on the KC-135 had to lie prone at the rear of the aircraft, manually looking out of a window while controlling the boom. At night, they were only guided by external lights on both aircraft. And there was no auto alignment mechanism, so they had to manually adjust the boom.

“There’s a lot of technology incorporated in the MRTT which makes our job a lot easier and way more comfortable,” 1SG Augustine said.

NOT AN EASY JOB

However, he acknowledged that the technology are simply aids and that the operator’s skill remains most important, saying: “When you’re going for contact, it’s all on you, controls-wise.”

“The thing about being a boom operator is it’s quite a dangerous scenario, because usually two aircraft don’t fly so close,” he added, calling the moments prior to contact the “most critical”.

Nevertheless, 1SG Augustine is confident that the four-and-a-half months of training he went through overseas before operating the platform has prepared him well.

“We have gone through training over and over and again for all of this,” he said. “The receivers are trained – locally we train almost every week. So, we always prioritise safety when we are doing this. If there’s any unsafe situation, we do have our procedures to call it off or back it up. We can always try it again.”

BEING A HIGH-VALUE TARGET

But perhaps the biggest safety issue for the MRTT is the fact that it’s a high-value target carrying thousands of pounds of fuel high in the sky.

The detachment commander MAJ Ong said the MRTT will usually be deployed in a designated refuelling “safe area” which enemies cannot reach, with factors considered including how far their missiles can go.

Still, he highlighted that the MRTT can follow fighter jets into dangerous territory during “special circumstances” like wartime requirements.

“When you do that, there will be high-value protection procedures in place and there’ll be protection to make sure we are safe,” he added. “If there’s any detection of a threat, then we will have to carry out our retrograde operations where we will have to move to a safe zone.”

These “retrograde operations” include the evasive manoeuvres reporters were treated to during the demonstration flight.

F-15SG pilot Captain (CPT) Leonard Lim, 28, said the MRTT at Exercise Forging Sabre only operates in “neutral land” where battles don’t take place, adding that fighter jets would fly there to refuel before returning to the conflict zone.

“Basically, we don’t want any threat to the MRTT,” he said. “But then again, we don’t want it too far behind that it’s not effective for fighters to employ and get the gas as quickly we can.”

When it comes to refuelling, CPT Lim said fighter jets usually go for contact at lower altitudes of below 20,000 feet, although this is dependent on weather conditions and the amount of weapons or fuel the fighter is carrying.

While the air refuelling operator 1SG Augustine recognised that the MRTT’s role might not be as prominent as that of the fighter jets, he remains proud of his job nonetheless.

“We are not really involved in the whole fighting aspect, like fighters are,” he said. “But we are a high-value asset, and there’s pride in being involved in that. We know our role and we know how important we are in the big picture of things.”