The Added Sugar Puzzle: the Food Science Piece‐Why is Sugar Added to Food and the Challenges of Labeling Added Sugar

Abstract

Added sugar is the new hot topic replacing the low dietary fat craze that started in the late 1980's. It gained even more publicity with the movie release of Fed Up and the recent proposal from FDA on the nutrition and supplement facts labels on March 3, 2014. So, why is added sugar in the cross hairs of the media and the government? FDA proposes that added sugar declaration on the label is another tool that will help consumers maintain healthy dietary practices by assisting consumers to identify foods that are nutrient‐dense and aid in reducing excessive discretionary calorie intake from added sugars. Through deductive reasoning, labeling added sugar is one tactic to potentially curb the obesity epidemic in the United States. But, is it the right one? Several questions and challenges exist, such as the lack of scientific evidence linking added sugar intake to disease, the ambiguous and confusing definition of added sugar, and the lack of an analytical method to determine added sugar content of food. We review the functions of sugar in food and show that refined starch is often used to replace added sugars in foods with no reduction in calorie content or improvement in nutrient density. Other alternatives to replace added sugars include high potency sweeteners in conjunction with bulking agents, but public controversy also surrounds the use of these alternatives. Without clear benefit to the consumer for added sugar labeling, we question the complex business obstacles, costs, and consumer confusion resulting from the proposed rule. Food scientists have the ability to replace added sugars with other ingredients, but it is not clear that it will be a public health benefit.