Nutri-Grade: understanding the label on your drink
Nutri-Grade rates beverages from A to D using their sugar and saturated fat content per 100 ml. It helps you compare drinks, but the amount you consume also depends on the cup size and any toppings. Understanding the grade alongside kopitiam ordering terms can help you choose a drink with less sugar.
What does Nutri-Grade measure?
Nutri-Grade is a labelling scheme run by the Health Promotion Board. It grades beverages from A to D according to their sugar and saturated fat content per 100 ml. Grade A is the lowest in both, and Grade D is the highest.
The scheme started with pre-packed drinks on supermarket shelves, such as canned soft drinks, packet drinks, cultured milk drinks and bottled juices. It was later extended to freshly prepared drinks, which is why the grade now appears on kopitiam menus, bubble tea boards and the drink list at food courts.
Two rules make the scheme visible. Drinks graded C or D must carry the label, on the packaging or on the menu. Drinks graded A or B may show it, and most brands that earn a good grade choose to. Grade D drinks may not be advertised. An absent label does not prove that a drink is A or B. There are exemptions, including some smaller sellers of freshly prepared drinks. If a drink shows no grade, ask about the ingredients and added sugar.
The grade tells you the concentration of sugar and saturated fat, and nothing else. A small cup of a Grade D drink still contains less sugar than a large cup of the same drink, and the grade will not tell you that.
The sugar and saturated fat thresholds
The sugar bands below are per 100 ml. Under the beverage rules, lactose and galactose are excluded from the sugar calculation. The drink also has to meet the relevant saturated fat threshold, and the poorer of the two results determines the grade.
- Grade A is 1 g of sugar or less per 100 ml. Plain water, unsweetened tea and kopi O kosong sit here.
- Grade B is more than 1 g and up to 5 g per 100 ml. Many reduced-sugar packet drinks and lightly sweetened teas land here.
- Grade C is more than 5 g and up to 10 g sugar per 100 ml when sugar determines the grade. Recipes vary, so read the actual label instead of assigning a grade from the drink name.
- Grade D is more than 10 g sugar per 100 ml when sugar determines the grade. A lower-sugar drink can also be Grade D if its saturated fat exceeds the D threshold.
The saturated fat limits are 0.7 g per 100 ml for A, 1.2 g for B and 2.8 g for C; above 2.8 g is D. A low-sugar drink can still receive C or D because of saturated fat. A drink with any non-sugar sweetener cannot be Grade A.
Multiply by the cup to make the numbers concrete. A 330 ml can at a little over 10 g per 100 ml holds more than 33 g of sugar, which is about eight teaspoons. A 500 ml bubble tea at the same concentration holds more than 50 g. The grade is per 100 ml, but the sugar you drink depends on the whole cup.
How kopi and teh orders change the drink
Kopitiam stalls sweeten their coffee and tea by default. The sugar arrives in two ways, as condensed milk, which is sweetened milk, and as plain sugar stirred in. The ordering words adjust both.
- Kopi and teh come with sweetened condensed milk. That milk is the main source of sugar in the cup.
- Kopi C and teh C use evaporated milk, which is unsweetened, with sugar added separately.
- Kopi O and teh O are black, with sugar added and no milk.
- Siew dai means less sugar. The stall holder will put in less condensed milk or less sugar, though the amount is up to the person making it.
- Ga dai means more sugar, and kosong means none at all.
Kopi O kosong is black coffee without added milk or sugar. Kopi C kosong has evaporated milk but no added sugar. A regular kopi uses sweetened condensed milk. Recipes and quantities differ between stalls, so do not assume a fixed grade for every kopi order.
If you drink three cups a day, the sugar from all three cups adds up. Moving from kopi to kopi siew dai, or from kopi to kopi C kosong, removes sugar at every cup without changing the routine.
Bubble tea, toppings and fruit juice
For customisable drinks, the displayed grade relates to a defined preparation, so check the menu explanation or ask which sugar option it describes. Solid toppings are excluded from the beverage grade; covered sellers must separately disclose their sugar content. Pearls, jelly and syrup can add to the total even when the base drink is lower in sugar.
A glass of juice contains the sugar of several pieces of fruit, pressed and separated from the fibre. The World Health Organization counts the sugar in juice as free sugar, in the same category as table sugar, because the fruit's structure has been removed. The WHO treats whole fruit differently. The sugar in an orange sits inside the fruit's cells and arrives with fibre and water, so you digest it at a slower rate and the orange takes longer to eat.
Eat fruit and drink water. A juice labelled "no added sugar" contains no added sugar, yet it can still be Grade C or D on its natural sugar alone.
How much free sugar is recommended?
The World Health Organization recommends that free sugars make up less than 10 per cent of daily energy, and says that going under 5 per cent brings further benefit. Free sugars are the sugars added by a manufacturer, a cook or the person drinking, plus the natural sugars in honey, syrups and fruit juice.
For an adult eating around 2,000 kcal a day, 10 per cent works out at about 50 g of sugar, and 5 per cent at about 25 g. Those figures cover the whole day, across every drink, snack, sauce and dessert.
One Grade D can uses most of the 5 per cent allowance on its own. One large bubble tea can exceed the 10 per cent figure before any food is counted. Two or three kopis with condensed milk can reach the lower figure on their own.
A sweet drink can still fit into your day. One drink can be a large share of the day's sugar, and that is worth knowing before you order.
Using the label when you order
Nutri-Grade helps compare the sugar and saturated fat concentration of beverages covered by the scheme. Use it together with the cup size, any toppings and how often you have the drink. It grades the drink and says nothing about the rest of your diet.
Water and unsweetened tea or coffee are practical everyday choices. A and B drinks can help reduce sugar and saturated fat compared with higher-grade alternatives. For C or D drinks, a smaller serving and fewer occasions can reduce the amount you drink.
If you have diabetes, pre-diabetes or a doctor's advice on sugar, follow that advice ahead of anything on this page. Ask your polyclinic or the doctor who ordered your blood test how drinks fit into your plan.
A practical next step
Make water or unsweetened drinks your usual choice. If you order a sweet drink, check the grade, choose a smaller size and consider fewer toppings. Siew dai means less sugar, and the cup still contains some.
Sources and further reading
These references explain the guidance and research discussed above. For advice about your own health, speak to a qualified healthcare professional.
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