Department of Health promotes new nutritional standards, inviting entrepreneurs to reduce sugar, fat, and salt for the health of Thai people
The Department of Health, Ministry of Public Health, has invited restaurant operators and food manufacturers nationwide to adjust their recipes using Thailand's nutritional standard criteria, known as the Thailand Nutrient Profiling Model (Thailand NPM), as a guideline for producing food with nutritional value appropriate to the body's needs.
This initiative has a key objective to reduce the amount of sugar, fat, and sodium in food, which are the main causes of non-communicable diseases, or NCDs, such as diabetes, high blood pressure, and heart disease. Currently, it is found that the number of Thai people suffering from these diseases is continuously increasing.
The Thailand NPM criteria will help entrepreneurs categorize food and improve recipes to have a more balanced nutrient profile. Furthermore, it will make it easier for consumers to make informed decisions when purchasing healthy food by observing standards certified by public health authorities.
The Department of Health is confident that if entrepreneurs cooperate in adjusting their food recipes according to these criteria, it will have a positive long-term impact on public health and help reduce the government's burden of medical expenses.
Entrepreneurs who are interested can study more information about the Thailand NPM criteria on the Department of Health's website to apply it to the development of food products that are of high quality and safe for all Thai consumers.