Shaking reliance on sodium an uphill task as authorities look to improve health of Singaporeans
MANUFACTURERS DOING THEIR PART
It is not just hawkers who are switching to healthier ingredients – some sauce manufacturers like Chung Hwa Food Industries and Sim Soon Heng Cooking Ingredients are doing so too.
Chung Hwa makes a wide range of sauces that mostly go to major restaurants. Currently, five are low-sodium with more in the works.
“Sometimes we … make a sauce more concentrated so that our consumers don’t have to use too much … to achieve the same … desired taste,” said Mr Hao Lun, an assistant manager at the firm.
The company also adds spices, or boils products for longer to bring out more natural flavours.
While Sim Soon Heng Cooking Ingredients has come up with items like lower sodium salted egg sauce and altered its oyster sauce formula, there are challenges in peddling them to hawkers, said its general manager Winlin Ng.
“It takes quite a lot of hard work to approach a hawker, because they are always very busy. And also, for them to accept lower sodium in sauces, it’s a big challenge for us,” she said.
“We have to visit them (and) explain to them that our government is actually promoting healthier choices.”
Still, sales for healthier options, which include both lower sugar and sodium products, are up by around 20 per cent over the past year, both manufacturers said.
They are now looking to expand into the retail space, such as supermarkets.
Supermarket chain FairPrice Group, which carries low-sodium options for items like salt and soy sauces, said that demand for healthier condiments has grown.
“Demand for these products has shown steady growth over the years, with some options having increased in sales by as much as three times this year compared to the previous year,” the chain said.
