The State of Sugar (Hidden) in our Food

The pervasiveness of added sugars in our grocery stores presents a profound health risk to consumers

Deciphering nutrition labels, managing sugar intake, and avoiding added sugars is challenging enough for the average consumer when ingredients are clearly displayed; it can be nearly impossible when added sugar content is not disclosed, ingredients are disguised, and package labels contain misleading claims.

Excessive consumption of added sugars is a major driver of Americans’ consumption of “empty calories.” The most recent estimates indicate that American adults consume an average of 19 teaspoons of added sugars on a daily basis — more than 1.5 times the most generous daily limits, and up to 3 times more than what the most conservative guidelines recommend.

Historically, U.S. food and beverage manufacturers have not been required to disclose on the Nutrition Facts label how much added sugar a product contains. As long as “no sugar or sugar containing ingredient is added during processing,” manufacturers have been allowed to include label claims of “No Added Sugars” and “Without Added Sugars.” The major caveat? Initial definitions of “sugar or sugar containing ingredients” were inconsistently interpreted and didn’t include sugar-containing ingredients with names that excluded the word “sugar.” Implementation of new nutrition labeling laws that expand the definition of added sugars continues to be delayed.

The inconsistent naming practices within product ingredient lists — there are upwards of 60 names for added sugars, with untold variations — and the continued absence of added sugars on nutrition fact labels means it is difficult to identify, track, and measure added sugar consumption.

We believe that consumers have the right to know what they are consuming and that everyone should have easy access to the information needed to make well-informed food choices

Here at GreenChoice, we’ve collected all those unrecognizable names and pseudonyms for added sugars and analyzed the presence of added sugars in over 55,000 food and beverage products sold by regional and national grocery stores in the United States.

We were shocked by our findings:

• Roughly 60% of food and beverages in the grocery store contain added sugars
• 3 out of 4 products containing sugar have added sugars
• 71% of foods marketed as whole grain, multi-grain, or ancient grain contain added sugars
• EIGHTY PERCENT of nutrition bars contain a source of added sugars…
• Over one-third of products marketed as organic contain added sugars
• Nearly 6% of products marketed as free from added sugars actually contain a source added sugars

And many more insights! Get the full scoop (plus our complete list of added sugars) by downloading the GreenChoice report, The State of Added Sugars (Hidden) in Our Food, 2019.