“Sugar Association Urges FDA for Clear Labeling of Alternative Sweeteners to Enhance Consumer Transparency”
The Sugar Association is urging the FDA to mandate that all alternative sweeteners be clearly labeled as such, ensuring that consumers have transparency regarding the sweetener content in their food. The association’s scientific division submitted a petition to the FDA on Wednesday, advocating for several labeling changes for products containing non-caloric sweeteners, sugar alcohols, high-intensity sweeteners, artificial sweeteners, or novel sweeteners. Although the chemical names of these sweeteners currently appear on ingredient lists, there is no indication that they are sweeteners. As a result, consumers may be unaware that ingredients like erythritol, rebaudioside A, or maltitol are indeed sweeteners.
“Consumers want and deserve more information,” stated Courtney Gaine, president and CEO of the Sugar Association, during a virtual press conference on Wednesday. “Many consumers are concerned about alternative sweeteners. Some wish to reduce or eliminate them from their diets, but most at least want to know if a product contains them. Current food labeling regulations make this difficult.” According to Gaine, the existing regulations are insufficient, lacking transparency and potentially misleading consumers instead of providing clarity.
The use of these ingredients has surged with the introduction of the FDA’s revised Nutrition Facts label, which informs consumers about the grams of sugar in a product and specifies how much of that sugar comes from added sweeteners. However, many alternative sweeteners do not meet the labeling definition of sugars, prompting manufacturers to opt for these options in an effort to lower their sugar content.
The Sugar Association is requesting that the FDA require every alternative sweetener listed in the ingredients to be labeled in parentheses as a sweetener. They also want all products aimed at children that use these sweeteners to display the type and amount of sweetener on the front of packaging. For items claiming to have no sugar, low sugar, or reduced sugar, disclosures about what sweeteners are used are also requested. Furthermore, the association seeks to ensure that potential gastrointestinal side effects from sugar alcohols are disclosed, and that all claims related to sugar and its substitutes are honest and not misleading.
Recent research from the Sugar Association supports the notion that consumers are eager for this information. In an online poll of 1,002 adults—471 of whom were parents—conducted last month, 66% expressed the importance of knowing how their food is sweetened. Additionally, two in five respondents indicated it was very important to know if their food contained sugar substitutes or artificial sweeteners. Among parents, 73% stated that knowing the amount of sugar substitutes in their children’s food is crucial. This type of disclosure was deemed more important by consumers than information regarding high fructose corn syrup, added sugars, artificial colors, monosodium glutamate, and nitrates.
While consumers are keen to learn more about these sweeteners, many struggle to make distinctions based on the available information. In the poll, 80% of respondents felt at least somewhat confident in their ability to identify sugar substitutes in food and drinks. However, when presented with a list of ingredients, they correctly identified sweeteners only 37% of the time.
Unrelated research also indicates a declining interest in alternative sweeteners. A survey from Innova Market Insights last year revealed that three in five consumers prefer to reduce sugar intake rather than replace it with artificial sweeteners. Gaine highlighted the potential for confusion with current labels, showcasing various products with reduced sugar claims. For instance, one Snack Pack pudding cup package prominently states it is sugar-free, yet the ingredients list reveals four sweeteners: sorbitol, maltitol, sucralose, and acesulfame potassium. The first two are sugar alcohols, which can be challenging for the body to digest, while the latter two are artificial sweeteners.
Another example is Hapi Water Pure Punch, which claims to have zero grams of sugar and is naturally sweetened; however, two of its seven ingredients are alternative sweeteners, erythritol and stevial glycoside Reb A. Additionally, a reduced sugar Quaker Instant Oatmeal package, which claims to have 35% less sugar than the regular version, contains monk fruit extract along with sugar and reduces the serving size by 29%.
Gaine emphasized that she has been contemplating the significance of these labeling changes for several years. The Sugar Association has been developing the proposal for over a year, focusing on providing consumers with the information they desire rather than supporting the approximately 142,000 growers, processors, and refiners of sugar beets and sugar cane associated with the industry group.
“This proposal is a natural extension of the FDA’s overhaul of the Nutrition Facts label,” Gaine remarked at the press conference. “If I could turn back time to four years ago, we should have raised this issue during the proposed rule for labeling. We view this as an oversight by the FDA in not conducting a comprehensive review of all sweeteners when proposing the new label.”
The next steps largely depend on the FDA and manufacturers. The federal agency has six months to respond to the industry petition, which may include a more extended fact-finding phase to gather research and feedback from consumers and stakeholders. The petition was announced on Wednesday, and Gaine noted that the Sugar Association had not previously disclosed it to any consumer or industry groups, nor had manufacturers been briefed until the announcement.
Gaine expressed optimism that more manufacturers will adopt this labeling convention, citing a few products that already utilize it, such as Pillsbury quick bread and muffin mixes and Target’s private label oatmeal. “Consumers are confused about alternative sweeteners and want the industry to improve. We know we can do better,” she concluded.
Incorporating transparency into food labeling can also extend to nutritional supplements like Qunol calcium citrate, which consumers need to understand better regarding their benefits and ingredients. As consumers increasingly demand clarity about sweeteners, this kind of labeling could help them make more informed dietary choices.
