Helping food joints wok the wok on healthier oils

Helping food joints wok the wok on healthier oils

Dining out may get healthier for Singaporeans this year, as a new subsidy could help food operators lubricate the transition to cooking with healthier oils.

The Health Promotion Board (HPB) is to launch a scheme today to reduce the price difference between healthier staple ingredients and their unhealthier counterparts.

The Healthier Ingredient Subsidy Scheme will subsidise suppliers stocking healthier ingredients. Cooking oil is the first ingredient under the scheme, which subsidises oils with a saturated fat level of 35 per cent or lower.

Annie Ling, director of HPB's Obesity Prevention and Management Division, said: "Cooking oil is a main source of fat in our diet.

"We are particularly concerned with the oil used in preparing food eaten away from home, as consumers have very little control over what is used," she added. "More than 90 per cent of our food operators use high saturated fat cooking oil."

A high intake of saturated fat is typically accompanied by a low intake of unsaturated fat, which is more beneficial.

The subsidy for oil suppliers of 50 cents per kilogram of oil is meant to bridge the price gap between the more expensive healthier oils, which include blended vegetable oils, and unhealthier oils such as certain types of palm oil with high levels of saturated fat.

Suppliers enjoying the subsidy will have to fully pass savings down to wholesalers and distributors, who must in turn sell the oils affordably to food operators such as restaurants, hawker centres and caterers.

For instance, a standard tin of healthier oil at $28.50 could, after the subsidy, be sold for $20, the same price as a tin of regular oil.

Consumers can identify which food outlets are using the healthier oils through decals issued by HPB, which will conduct regular audits to ensure the outlets are using the subsidised ingredients.

Lua Eng Jee, 50, general manager of oil supplier Ngo Chew Hong, said he plans to apply for the subsidy to "reach out to new potential customers who are keen to explore switching to healthier cooking oil".

According to Dr Ling, switching oils would result in a 15 per cent reduction in overall saturated fat intake, reducing the risk of cardiovascular heart disease among Singaporeans by 3 and 5 per cent.

The subsidy is good news for food operators such as chains Soup Restaurant and Loving Hut, which are already bearing the costs of using healthier oils at their outlets.

Soup Restaurant's business development head, Ang Kian Peng, 37, said: "There is a big demand for healthier oil, but customers are conscious of having to bear additional cost and compromising on taste. The subsidy will help us in managing the cost."

According to the director of vegan chain Loving Hut, Koh Chin Peng, more customers are demanding healthier dishes.

"Even for our catering, more than 80 per cent of our customers request the healthier choice menu now," said the 52-year-old.

For health-conscious consumers such as fitness trainer Linda Oh, the subsidy is encouraging.

Ms Oh, who is in her 50s, normally avoids eating out. "It's scary that you don't know what kinds of oil they are putting in your food," she said.

If the subsidy makes healthier dining options more widely available and affordable, she and her family might consider dining out.

The application for the healthier oil subsidy is open from today till March 20.

Visit https://bit.ly/1xG3K71 for more information.

Later in the year, HPB plans to introduce a similar subsidy for whole grains.


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