KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 5 (Bernama) — The classification of food nutrition or Nutri-Grade under the Health Ministry’s (MOH) initiative will be implemented soon, Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad said.
He added that Nutri-Grade will be used to categorise food products sold in supermarkets so that it is easily understood by consumers, and its implementation is aimed at increasing healthy nutrition literacy among Malaysians.
“When we introduce Nutri-Grade, we will find that the category of food begins from Grade A – the best, to Grade D – should not be advertised at all.
“We will categorise which are unhealthy, we box it up in Grade D, which has unhealthy (food contents) so that people know and if possible avoid it,” he told reporters after the launch of the National Health and Morbidity Study (NHMS) 2024 (Nutrition) findings at the Banquet Hall of the Parliament building today.
Such an approach has to be implemented following NHMS findings that show a lack of nutrition among Malaysians.
“The challenge still falls on us as health managers to ensure healthy nutritional practices continue to be implemented, including those related to malnutrition, especially among teenagers and children,” Dr Dzulkefly said, adding that his ministry was open to having engagement sessions with social media influencers to assist in realising the healthy dietary agenda in the country.
The study that involved 5,400 households revealed that 78 per cent of teenagers and 74 per cent of adults lack sufficient vitamin A due to a lack of vegetable and fruit intake, and 98 per cent of teenagers and 96 per cent of adults are calcium-deficient due to a lack of intake of dairy products.
Meanwhile, two out of three teenagers and one out of two adults’ intake of sugar in food and drink exceeded 37.5 grammes (g) or 7.5 teaspoons a day, and three out of four adults consume an average of 7.3 g or 1.5 teaspoons of salt a day, exceeding the World Health Organisation’s (WHO) recommended 5 g or one teaspoon daily intake.
— BERNAMA
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