Top Sweeteners in Top Contributors of Commercially Processed Foods With Added Sugars in the U.S.: Application of the IngID Program

Abstract

Abstract Objectives Added sugars should be limited to help achieve healthy dietary patterns within calorie limits. According to What We Eat in America Data Briefs 2015–2018, beverages and sweet foods provided 90% of added sugars intake combined. However, there is a knowledge gap in the type of sweetener used in these foods. A framework for parsing and reporting of ingredients used in commercially packaged foods (IngID) was recently developed to make this analysis possible. This study aims to analyze top types of added sugars and most frequently appearing concurrent ingredients in the top sugar contributing categories. Methods Two categories, carbonated beverages and cookies, were selected as examples to demonstrate the analyses of ingredients. Universal Product Codes (UPC) of foods in these categories were obtained from IRI's (Information Resources Incorporated) scanner data covering over 80% of the total sold products in the category. Ingredient statements were obtained from USDA's Global Branded Food Products Database (BFPD) and manufacturer or distributor websites. A program developed for IngID was applied to parse the ingredient text strings for each product (unique UPC). A thesaurus was applied to assign preferred descriptors (PDs) to equivalent ingredient terms such as synonyms and spellingy errors. Results In the 982 carbonated beverages with unique UPCs aside from carbonated water and flavor, the top 5 ingredients were citric acid, high fructose corn syrup (HFCS), caramel color, sodium benzoate and caffeine. The order of sweeteners most frequently used among the 21 sweeteners used in carbonated beverages were HFCS, aspartame, acesulfame potassium, sucrose and sucralose. In the 1718 cookie products included, aside from flavor, the top ingredients were sucrose, sodium chloride, soy lecithin, and wheat flour and. Majority of the 70 sweeteners used in cookies were nutritive sweeteners. The order of sweeteners most frequently used is sucrose, HFCS, dextrose, corn syrup and molasses. Conclusions Multiple kinds of sweeteners were used in packaged foods with added sugars. The analyses offer policy makers and consumers information to understand the current sweeteners used in packaged foods. Importantly, BFPDB and IgnID program provided valuable tools for up-to-date ingredient analysis. Funding Sources USDA.