FDA added sugars labeling
Added Sugars is a required Nutrition Facts line in grams and % Daily Value, indented under Total Sugars against a 50 g Daily Value.
A required line on the panel
"Added Sugars" is a mandatory line on the Nutrition Facts panel. It is declared in grams and as a % Daily Value, indented directly under "Total Sugars". It was introduced by the 2016 Nutrition Facts label final rule, so older panels that stop at Total Sugars are out of date.
What counts as an added sugar
Added sugars are the sugars added during processing, plus sugars from syrups and honey and from concentrated fruit or vegetable juices beyond what would naturally be expected. Sugars present naturally in an ingredient are not counted as added.
The %DV is based on 50 grams
The % Daily Value for added sugars is calculated against a Daily Value of 50 grams. That single reference is what turns your gram figure into the percentage shown on the panel.
Single-ingredient sugars
A single-ingredient sugar such as a jar of honey or a bag of table sugar still declares its added-sugars % Daily Value. FDA's guidance lets such a product leave out the words "Includes X g Added Sugars" — the % Daily Value for added sugars stays in the panel, followed by a "†" that leads to a footnote about the added sugars — so that it does not look as if sugar was added to it. LabelYog prints the standard line — the grams and the % Daily Value — and does not draw the "†" footnote.
At a glance
- Added Sugars line present and indented under Total Sugars
- Grams of added sugars declared
- % Daily Value shown against the 50 g Daily Value
- Syrups, honey and concentrated juices counted correctly
- Single-ingredient sugar: the added-sugars % Daily Value still declared (the "†" footnote is an option FDA's guidance allows)
Questions
Is Added Sugars mandatory on the Nutrition Facts panel?
Yes. It is a required line, shown in grams and as a % Daily Value, indented under Total Sugars.
What Daily Value is the added-sugars %DV based on?
A Daily Value of 50 grams.
What sugars count as added?
Sugars added during processing, plus sugars from syrups, honey and concentrated fruit or vegetable juices beyond what is naturally expected.
Does a jar of honey need an added-sugars %DV?
Yes. The % Daily Value for added sugars is still declared. FDA's guidance lets a single-ingredient sugar leave out the words "Includes X g Added Sugars" and put a "†" after the % Daily Value, leading to a footnote about the added sugars.
Can LabelYog work out added sugars from my recipe?
Partly. LabelYog counts as added sugars all the sugars of the sugars, syrups, honeys and tabletop sweeteners it recognises by name (for example granulated sugar, honey or maple syrup), and of the foods whose names it recognises as showing sugar was added (for example “sweetened”, “in syrup”, “jam” or “sugar added”). Any other ingredient’s sugars are counted as naturally occurring, because the food data does not say how much of them was added; on markets whose label reads added sugars, LabelYog names beside the label those that give at least 1 g of sugars per 100 g of the product. If you know the real figure, enter it with your other values under “From a certified lab”.
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