Chitchat Madam President Launches Milo Gao Kosong! John Tan Support!

[JohnTan]

SINGAPORE: Beverage brand Milo on Tuesday (Jun 19) launched a variant of the drink with no added table sugar, in a move welcomed by the Health Promotion Board (HPB).

The Gao Kosong version only contains sugar that is naturally present in milk and malt - the two key ingredients in Milo.

Speaking at the pop-up Milo Gao Kosong Pit Stop at Plaza Singapura, where President Halimah Yacob was also in attendance, Nestle Singapore managing director Rajiv Deraniyagala said that the drink is the result of a challenge posed by the President.

"It was about eight, nine months ago when we had this conversation with President Halimah Yacob on what we can do to reduce the sugar in Milo," Mr Deraniyagala said. "We were introducing our new Milo Gao Siew Dai to her at the time and she challenged us and asked the question: Is it possible to have a Milo with no added sugar?

Milo launched the Gao Siew Dai version last July, which has 50 per cent less table sugar and 30 per cent more protein than the original formula.

"Today, inspired by President Halimah Yacob, after many months of research here in Singapore, we are extremely excited to unveil the first Milo without added (table) sugar," Mr Deraniyagala said.

President Halimah Yacob at the Milo Gao Kosong launch (Photo: Matthew Mohan)


"It's very important that industry partners work with the Government (and) the Health Promotion Board, because you need all these partners to come together," he added. "For Nestle, it's part of our global agenda that we reduce the sugar in not just Milo but other beverages that we offer."

The new drink is endorsed by the HPB under its Healthier Choice Symbol programme.

This comes as the Government body wages a war against diabetes, with a goal set by the HPB earlier this year to reduce sugar in Singaporeans’ diet by 25 per cent by 2020.

“We are pleased to see the launch of Milo Gao Kosong. Milo has been a strong industry supporter in our initiatives to reduce the consumption of sugar sweetened beverages. We are very happy to see the brand take one step further to once again reaffirm its commitment to producing healthier beverage options for Singaporeans," said Ms Audrey Tong, director of HPB's corporate & industry partnerships division, in a statement.

"We look forward to more industry partners coming on board to join us on this journey to encourage consumers to reduce their sugar levels in beverages.”

Read more at https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/milo-launches-milo-gao-kosong-halimah-yacob-10447114

 

[AhMeng]

Nestle indeed have good connection and relationship with chenghu people..Lol

 

[JohnTan]

Nestle indeed have good connection and relationship with chenghu people..Lol

It is a good thing to have good connections and relationship with the government. Why do oppies always think that society is better off when its people are at loggerheads with the government?

 

[syed putra]

Without indian managing director at nestle, it would have gone bankrupt!

 

[Scrooball (clone)]

She's finally found her true calling in life..... serving drinks

 

[steffychun]

We pay her millions for Milo woh!

 

[halsey02]

She's finally found her true calling in life..... serving drinks

Serving drinks is a second calling, you forgot, the other calling, maintaining the gardens at The Istana. The highest paid 'domestic servant'.

 

[JohnTan]

I've instructed my maid to buy 10 bags of Milo Gao Kosong today!

 

[halsey02]

I've instructed my maid to buy 10 bags of Milo Gao Kosong today!

Get diabetes soon....don't forget to leave your name & address with Ministry of Health to enter into the National Registry for Diabetics, RC members gets to choose their niche at Mandai of their choice, for future use & that is under NEA.

 

[Truth_Hurts]

Serving drinks is a second calling, you forgot, the other calling, maintaining the gardens at The Istana. The highest paid 'domestic servant'.

Don't see her no up lah..she is the house keeper. As the domestic servants report to her

 

[bobby]

Wow...a President of a country endorsing a product.

 

[no_faith]

Without indian managing director at nestle, it would have gone bankrupt!

Lidat it is good to see many ah neh ministers in govt?

 

[shittypore]

Without indian managing director at nestle, it would have gone bankrupt!

Pls lah, tis is the first Ah Neh in Nestle, his kosong milo will kill his mkt share. If kosong better drink plain water.

 

[AhMeng]

Wow...a President of a country endorsing a product.

Exactly. She has been made use by a global MNC to endorse a brand name free of charge. Lol. Classic marketing ploy by global MNC Nestle and their Comms team. Her picture and the story will be all over South East Asia. Lol

 

[bobby]

Exactly. She has been made use by a global MNC to endorse a brand name free of charge. Lol. Classic marketing ploy by global MNC Nestle and their Comms team. Her picture and the story will be all over South East Asia. Lol

Next product in line for presidential endorsement should be Coke No Sugar....

 

[AhMeng]

Next product in line for presidential endorsement should be Coke No Sugar....

All these FMCG will substitute the sugar with other more harmful chemicals. Western FMCGs are not any better than China FMCGs. The Westerners have mastered the art of doing it subtly, that's all.

 

[sweetiepie]

my uncle say KNN mdm president asked "is it possible to have milo with no sugar" stupid question le of course can lah only whether people want to drink or the company want to make or can make money KNN

 

[KuanTi01]

This type of chobolan President really mother of all figureheads!

 

[Scrooball (clone)]

Low sugar in milo so what?

If they want to do a proper job, ban all white rice la. How many cups of milo u drink everyday? Use common sense la.


Diabetes: The rice you eat is worse than sugary drinks
White rice is even more potent than sweet soda drinks in causing diabetes. ST PHOTO: LIM SIN THAI
PUBLISHED
MAY 6, 2016, 5:00 AM SGT
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Salma Khalik
Senior Health Correspondent

The health authorities have identified one of their top concerns as they wage war on diabetes: white rice. It is even more potent than sweet soda drinks in causing the disease.

Sharing his battle plan to reduce the risk of diabetes, Health Promotion Board chief executive Zee Yoong Kang said that obesity and sugary drinks are the major causes of the condition in the West.

But Asians are more predisposed to diabetes than Caucasians, so people do not have to be obese to be at risk. Starchy white rice can overload their bodies with blood sugar and heighten their risk of diabetes.

Mr Zee is armed with data. A meta- analysis of four major studies, involving more than 350,000 people followed for four to 20 years, by the Harvard School of Public Health - published in the British Medical Journal - threw up some sobering findings.

One, it showed each plate of white rice eaten in a day - on a regular basis - raises the risk of diabetes by 11 per cent in the overall population.

Two, it showed that while Asians, like the Chinese, had four servings a day of cooked rice, Americans and Australians ate just five a week.




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Asians 'more at risk of diabetes than Caucasians'[/paste:font]
Hooked on white rice, but some ready to change diet[/paste:font]
But Mr Zee does not plan to ask Singaporeans to stop eating rice, a popular feature of meals here. What he would like is to see more people turn to healthier varieties.

Long grain white rice is also better than short grain when it comes to how it spikes blood sugar - a rise in sugar levels causes the pancreas to produce more insulin, and frequent spikes can lead to diabetes.

He would also like people to try adding 20 per cent of brown rice to their white rice. This amount is enough to reduce their risk of diabetes by 16 per cent."There is no need to fully replace what they now eat. Just increase the quantity of whole grain and brown rice."

Health Minister Gan Kim Yong said last month that this disease is already costing the country more than $1 billion a year. Diabetes is a major cause of blindness, kidney failure and amputations in Singapore.

Dr Stanley Liew, a diabetes expert at Raffles Hospital, advised people to eat less rice. He added that most junk food and sodas are just as bad and should be discouraged.

facebook.com/ST.Salma

The graphic above has been updated for clarity.

 

[AhMeng]

I wonder how much is Nestlé investment in Singapore to be entitled such Presidential endorsement of a product.

I haven't seen any past President being made use like this to endorse a product by an MNC. I could be wrong, but the Comms team in Nestle has indeed done a great uplift in Milo's brand equity ...Lol