Govt Depts, Agencies Advised To Reduce Use Of Sugar In Food Served At Meetings, Events

IPOH, March 3 (Bernama) -- All government departments and agencies in Perak are advised to reduce the use of sugar by 50 per cent for food and beverages at their meetings and events.

State Human Resources, Health, Indian Community Affairs and National Integration Committee chairman A. Sivanesan expressed concern that despite government guidelines on serving food during meetings, the issue is not being taken seriously by the relevant parties.

"We are not concerned with other states, but we care about the 2.5 million people of Perak. We will address this issue after gathering feedback through a town hall session with stakeholders before bringing the matter to the state executive council," he told a press conference here today.

Earlier he attended a briefing on Strengthening the Implementation of Serving Healthy Meals During Meetings (PHSSM) in the Public Service, in line with the state’s ‘War on Sugar’ campaign.

In his speech, Sivanesan said that the War on Sugar campaign is part of the government's effort to prevent Malaysians from becoming complacent and falling victim to diseases linked to excessive sugar consumption.

"Prevention is always better than cure. Once we fall ill, the cost of treatment is too high, and our quality of life declines," he added.

-- BERNAMA