Added Sugars on a Nutrition Facts Label: What Counts

Added sugars is its own line

The updated Nutrition Facts panel splits sugar into two lines. Total sugars counts everything. Added sugars, indented under it, counts only the sugar put into the food, so a buyer can tell what you added from what the ingredients bring on their own. Both lines show on the panel.

Natural sweeteners still count as added

This is the part that surprises people. Honey, maple syrup, agave, molasses, cane sugar, brown sugar, and corn syrup are all added sugars when you put them in a recipe. Being unrefined or natural does not exempt them. If you sweetened with it, it goes on the added sugars line.

• Counts as added: white and brown sugar, honey, maple syrup, agave, molasses, corn syrup, and fruit juice concentrate used to sweeten
• Does not count: the sugar naturally in whole fruit, milk, or a plain ingredient you did not add to sweeten

The fruit juice exception is narrow

Sugar that occurs naturally in an intact fruit or vegetable is not added. But once you concentrate fruit juice and use it to sweeten, the sugar above what the whole fruit would contribute counts as added. Dried fruit and single-strength juice have their own narrow rules. When in doubt, if you used it to make the food sweeter, treat it as added.

Why it matters for your label

Getting the added sugars line right keeps your panel honest and comparable to the product next to yours. It also matters if you ever want to make a sugar claim, since those lean on this number. Nutripane separates added from naturally occurring sugar when it builds your panel, based on the ingredients you enter. Verify the split if a claim depends on it.

Questions

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