A new report from Food Industry Asia (FIA) has revealed that although a majority of Filipinos (81%) believe that following a healthy, balanced diet is their own responsibility, they also want more support from industry. More specifically, they seek more visibility of reformulated F&B products, increased communications that outline the benefits of these products, and clearer nutrition labels.

The report, Healthier Product Reformulation in the Philippines, is hailed as the “first of its kind” for the country and evidences a major shift in Southeast Asian healthy consumption patterns.

FIA surveyed both consumers and F&B businesses. The aim of the report was to better understand behavioral trends and perceptions of solutions geared towards delivering improved nutrition such as reformulation and product labeling.

Health consciousness among Filipino consumers is increasing, with 56% of those surveyed claiming that they mostly maintain a healthy diet.“Reformulation takes time and requires significant budgets and technical knowledge to ensure that the reformulated product does not disaffect consumers,” FIA public affairs manager, Sabeera Ali, tells FoodIngredientsFirst.

“It is, therefore, important for both policymakers and industry stakeholders to take on a collaborative approach in policy making.”

Holding national industry to a standard
According to the report, health consciousness among Filipino consumers is increasing, with 56% of those surveyed claiming that they mostly maintain a healthy diet.

While most consumers (99%) have shown some interest in adopting healthier eating habits, eating more fruits and vegetables (41%) and reducing the intake of salt (34%), sugar (32%), and fat (32%) have been identified as key areas to improve their diets.

However, a majority (79%) of consumers also believe that food companies should voluntarily change their product formulations and recipes to help consumers make – and stick – to these healthier choices.

In line with this, three-quarters (76%) of Filipino consumers have indicated their receptiveness towards the addition or removal of ingredients and the use of alternatives to make a product healthier.

“Against a backdro of growing concerns over obesity, non-communicable diseases like diabetes, and COVID-19, product reformulation is already well underway in the Philippines to encourage healthier food choices and behaviors,” states Ali.

“Our findings show that 70% of companies surveyed have embarked on reformulation to improve the nutritional value of their products,” she adds.

“With consumers getting more health conscious, there is now a great opportunity and incentive for the industry to invest in reformulation and drive consumer choice by providing healthier food products.”

Philippine food policy
The Philippine government has established the National Nutrition Council (NNC), a coordinating body for the implementation and monitoring of nutrition-related programs and projects.

Findings from the survey reveal 70% of companies have embarked on reformulation to improve the nutritional value of their products.“A key program of the NNC is the Philippine Plan of Action for Nutrition (PPAN) which serves as the country’s blueprint for an integrated approach for nutrition interventions,” says Ali. “The outcome targets of the PPAN 2017-2022 are to reduce the prevalence of child stunting, wasting and to reduce micronutrient deficiencies to levels below public health significance.”

In light of promoting healthy and balanced diets, The Food and Nutrition Research Institute (FNRI) of the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) has also developed a visual tool known as the Pinggang Pinoy to guide Filipinos in consuming the right amount of food in every meal.

“While there is also the implementation of an excise tax on sugary drinks in the Philippines, this on its own is not enough and cannot prove to be effective in curbing the prevalence of obesity and its related diseases,” urges Ali.

“A good excise tax policy to address health challenges should be carefully designed and executed, such that it takes into consideration the timeframe and targets to facilitate such efforts.”

Government called upon to do more
Initiating widespread food reformulation strategies is no small feat. In the UK, the nation’s top ten food companies were recently found to have made limited changes to the healthiness of their products in response to Public Health England’s (PHE) voluntary reformulation targets.

While the commercial incentive to reformulate is strong for the Filipino industry, the FIA report also found that more can be done in conjunction with the government – 94% of companies felt that greater fiscal incentives would help to support R&D activities.

This highlights the need for multi-stakeholder collaborations to drive more R&D activities for new product development and reformulation, according to Elizabeth de Leon-Lim, chairman and president of the Philippine Chamber of Food Manufacturers Inc. (PCFMI).

Multi-stakeholder collaborations are crucial in accelerating the industry’s current efforts when it comes to healthier product development and reformulation, stresses De Leon-Lim. “They provide the opportunity for food and beverage businesses to work together and share technical know-hows as well as success stories to encourage further R&D.”

“Such collaborations also mean that the industry can work alongside the government to address some key challenges when it comes to reformulation, and strengthen the use of existing data on nutritional studies from the government,” highlights De Leon-Kim.

“With the report findings highlighting how consumers want the industry to play a part in their dietary and consumption habits, it is important that we all work together to drive product reformulation in the Philippines forward,” she concludes.