'Siu Dai by default' movement lauded by drinks stall workers and customers, but some prefer the status quo - TODAY

SINGAPORE — Drinks stall worker Hsu Hui Ling, 43, has been preparing beverages for 18 years. Aware of the amount of sugar that goes into every glass served, she has become more conscious of her own sugar intake.

"My husband was diagnosed with diabetes two years ago because it is hereditary. He has to be extra cautious when eating and drinking to control his sugar intake," she said.

"His condition is still manageable, for now. But because of this experience, I will advise as many people as I can not to take too much sugar."

Ms Hsu, who works at a coffee shop in Ang Mo Kio, would often make it a point to ask customers if they would prefer their kopi or teh "siu dai", which means less sweet in coffee shop lingo.

To her surprise, she is seeing more and more customers agreeing to the "siu dai" option when asked. In fact, a good mix of them would also order "kosong", or no sugar.

Ms Hsu believes that most people are becoming more health conscious today due to the constant messaging from the authorities.

One of these messages now includes the "Siu Dai by default" movement, launched by the Health Promotion Board (HPB) last September to complement the Nutri-Grade labelling requirement implemented on Dec 30.

The movement aims to encourage F&B operators to offer beverages with less sugar as a default.

On Friday (March 1), HPB announced that the Foochow Coffee Restaurant & Bar Merchants Association and Kheng Keow Coffee Merchants Restaurant and Bar-Owners Association have pledged their support to the movement.

The associations said in a dialogue last month that consumers are increasingly requesting "siu dai" or "kosong" drinks, and they hoped for more public education to ensure that consumers can ask for less sweet options.

Both associations have a combined total of over 500 members, representing over half of coffee shops in Singapore.

Most drink stall workers and customers TODAY spoke to lauded the movement and shared the same observation. Workers said they have noticed more customers asking for less sweetened drinks in the past one to two years.

However, a handful think that drinks with normal sweetness levels should be the default.

WHAT DRINKS STALL WORKERS AND CUSTOMERS SAY

Drinks stall worker Lee Yoon Thai, who works in a coffee shop in Bishan, said customers, both young and old, have been asking for less sweetened drinks.

"This is good because it saves us a lot of sugar," said the 60-year-old, who started drinking coffee without sugar a year ago, as advised by her doctor, due to her high cholesterol.

Another worker at a drinks stall, Shen Lei, 40, said his boss had agreed to be part of the movement around half a year ago when it launched.

"Less sugar is always healthier. But even though we have a sign that says, 'Your kopi, teh and malted drinks are now served siu dai', we still ask the customer if they prefer the 'siu dai' option," he said.

"They may not be aware of this movement, so we worry that if we serve 'siu dai' by default without confirming, the customer might be unhappy."

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