MANILA: The proliferation of artificial or magic sugar in local markets must be regulated in consideration of consumers’ health, the Sugar Regulatory Administration (SRA) said on Monday.
“Mayroon tayong tinitingnan na high fructose syrup, iyong mga chemical sweeteners. Lahat po pinapatingnan po ng SRA iyon (We are looking at high fructose syrup, those chemical sweeteners. The SRA is looking into all of these). Who regulates it? Ano po iyong (What is the) agency involved? And of course, we want to regulate it as well,” SRA Administrator Pablo Luis Azcona said in a Zoom interview.
Azcona explained that magic sugar, also known as aspartame, is a chemical compound sweetener commonly used in refresher drinks that may pose health risks.
“Number one concern diyan is iyong health ng (is the health of) consumers. Number two, kung di natin alam saan galing, talagang delikado (if we don’t know where it came from, that’s really dangerous),” he said.
Businessmen, however, tend to sell or use artificial sugar as a chea
per source of sweetener, he said.
In the Commonwealth market, magic sugar is sold at only PHP35 per package, while refined sugar is between PHP 80 to PHP 95 per kilo.
Although the SRA is uncertain whether it is smuggled or not, the supply of magic sugar is 100 percent imported, Azcona noted.
Source: Philippines News Agency
