Brown rice at same price to in-grain healthy habit

FairPrice offering discount for three types of wholegrain rice till Oct 18

The brown rice bay at FairPrice in Bedok North. The supermarket chain is selling white and brown rice under its housebrands at the same price till Oct 18 in a move to support the national drive to fight diabetes. Other chains, such as Cold Storage an
The brown rice bay at FairPrice in Bedok North. The supermarket chain is selling white and brown rice under its housebrands at the same price till Oct 18 in a move to support the national drive to fight diabetes. Other chains, such as Cold Storage and Giant, regularly offer special discounts or promotions for brown rice. ST PHOTO: SUE-ANN TAN

White or brown - FairPrice is selling rice under its housebrands at the same price, in a move to fight the rise of diabetes in Singapore.

The supermarket chain is levelling the prices by giving a 10 per cent discount for three types of wholegrain rice: brown unpolished rice, red unpolished rice and Thai rice blend.

The offer, launched yesterday, ends on Oct 18.

It is also progressively setting up dedicated bays for brown rice at its stores so that it is more "visible and prominent to shoppers", FairPrice said in a statement yesterday, when it launched its six-month public education campaign on the benefits of eating brown rice.

The move is in support of the national drive to fight diabetes.

Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, in this year's National Day Rally, said Singapore is second only to the US in having the highest incidence of diabetes among developed nations.

About 400,000 Singaporeans are diabetic and one in three has a lifetime risk of developing the disease, according to official figures.

If nothing is done, the number of diabetics under age 70 is expected to rise to 670,000 by 2030 and one million by 2050.

Besides putting up posters promoting brown rice, FairPrice has also stocked its supermarkets with leaflets containing recipes that use wholegrain rice.

It said sales of its housebrand brown rice have risen by more than 25 per cent in the span of a year, since January last year.

Yesterday's launch of the brown rice promotion took place at the annual FairPrice Walk for Rice @ South East, in which people walk to "raise" rice for low-income families.

More than 700 people took part in the 1km walk in Bedok, which aims to raise 500,000 bowls of rice for more than 7,000 families.

FairPrice chief executive Seah Kian Peng said this year's event is "more significant and relevant as we complement the national agenda to reduce the risk of diabetes. We will encourage everyone to adopt an active lifestyle and a healthy diet".

Other supermarket chains, such as Cold Storage and Giant, are doing their bit too. Dairy Farm Group, which operates both, said it has been working with suppliers to regularly offer special discounts or promotions for brown rice.

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on October 06, 2017, with the headline Brown rice at same price to in-grain healthy habit. Subscribe