Would “Added Sugar” on Nutrition Labels Confuse You?
Added sugar pops up in plenty of expected places, even in savory-tasting foods such as spaghetti sauce and salad dressing (2 tbsp of Ken’s Fat-Free Sun-Dried Tomato Vinaigrette contains 12 g of sugar, for example). Added sugars, of course, differ from naturally-occurring sugars, like those found in fruit and milk. Looking at a nutrition label, would you know the difference? The FDA is eager to find out.
The agency recently put out a request for public comment, inviting consumers and food-related organizations to share their thoughts on a potential study that tests how shoppers would react to nutrition labels that list how much sugar has been added to a particular food. (You can read the comments here.)
While a growing body of nutrition research suggests that the amount of sugar in the American diet is contributing to increasing rates of type 2 diabetes, obesity, and other diseases, several organizations are against the labels. The American Bakers Association explained that chemically speaking, sugar is sugar, and if the FDA wants to enforce the new labels, it would need to carefully examine food manufacturers’ recipes, which the agency doesn’t have authority to do. The National Dairy Council worries that consumers' confusion over the difference between natural and added sugars would cause them to avoid nutritious foods, like yogurt, that contain added sugar to make them more appetizing.
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On the other hand, the American Heart Association is all for the labels, suggesting that they could help Americans eat less sugar, a goal shared by the AHA, the USDA, and other healthy eating organizations. Rather than confuse consumers, the AHA believes that the labels could serve to teach shoppers about the different types of sugar and pick healthier foods accordingly. Yale University’s Rudd Center for Food Policy & Obesity also supports the study, stating that showing a breakdown of the various types of sugar on a nutrition label would be no more confusing than listing the types of fat (e.g. total, saturated, trans), which is already an accepted practice.
While the FDA digests these comments and decides whether to go through with the study, here’s how to spot sneaky sugars and decode labels on your own:
Create a visual. That 12 g of sugar in Ken’s Fat Free Sun-Dried Tomato Vinaigrette—is it a lot? Well, 4 g of sugar equals 1 teaspoon, so the salad dressing contains 3 tsp of sugar. If you can’t imagine dumping that much sweet stuff onto a bed of greens, find a different dressing.
Compare labels. Subtract the amount of sugar from the total carbohydrates to estimate how much sugar has been added. Then compare different varieties of a similar food. For example, a 6-ounce container of original Yoplait strawberry yogurt contains 33 g of carbohydrates and 26 g of sugar, while 6 ounces of Stonyfield Strawberries & Cream yogurt has 20 g of carbs and 19 g of sugar. The latter contains less added sugar, meaning most of its sweetness comes from milk and fruit.
Look for keywords. Scan ingredient lists for words such as high fructose corn syrup, evaporated cane juice or fruit juice concentrates. Even when they sound healthy (“organic cane sugar”), these sweet substances do not occur naturally in foods.
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