How to tell if the beverage / jam / cake meets Healthier Choice Symbol (HCS) guidelines?
Please refer to point 8 of HMPP/HMSP guidelines for more details. Below are the recommendations in general.
Commercial beverage: Only products that have the Healthier Choice Symbol (HCS) or meet the HCS guidelines (beverage's category) AND do not contain any intense sweetener are allowed to be served.
Homemade drink: The sugar content must be ≤ 5g and saturated fat must be ≤ 1.2g per 100ml of beverage.
Freshly-prepared fruit juice: The sugar content must be ≤ 5g (including the natural sugar in the fruit itself).
All beverages: Additional sweeteners are not allowed.Jam: Only products with HCS are allowed to be used in food preparation.
Commercial cake (e.g. local cake or seasonal cake): Only products with HCS are allowed to be served.
Homemade cake: The sugar level must be 12g or less per serving
Related questions
Can we use non-Healthier Choice Symbol (HCS) endorsed jam and kaya?
Are fruit juice concentrates allowed to be used to prepare beverages for children/students?
Based on the current guidelines, HPB is encouraging the use of ingredients or snacks that have the Healthier Choice Symbol (HCS) or meet HCS guidelines. Kindly note that ingredients are mostly bought in bulk and may not necessarily have the HCS symbol and/or Nutrition Information Panel (NIP) to assess immediately if it meets HCS guidelines e.g., soya sauce, tomato sauce, Demi-Glace Sauce, cereal in bulk etc. In addition, delays due to requesting for NIP from suppliers and vetting of the ingredients can have an impact on menu planning and preparation of meals for childcare. This also runs a risk whereby food varieties for the children may be restricted due to the worry of not being able to meet the HCS guidelines.
Can we use jam and kaya that is Healthier Choice Symbol (HCS)-endorsed but contains sweeteners?
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