How to spot added sugar on an ingredient list
U.S. Nutrition Facts labels now show 'Added Sugars' on their own line. The ingredient list tells you where that sugar comes from — and how much of the recipe it is.
Names that mean added sugar
- Sugar, cane sugar, brown sugar, powdered sugar
- Corn syrup, high-fructose corn syrup, corn syrup solids
- Dextrose, fructose, glucose, maltose, sucrose
- Honey, maple syrup, agave nectar, molasses
- Brown rice syrup, malt syrup, evaporated cane juice
- Fruit juice concentrate
Read the order
Ingredients are listed by weight, heaviest first. Sugar near the top — or several different sugars spread through the list — means a product is sweeter than it may look.
Check it with a scan
Sugars are one of the nutrients the score counts against a product. On the product page, a high sugar level is marked in orange or red, so you don't have to do the math.
FAQ
- Are sweeteners counted as sugar?
- No. Low- and no-calorie sweeteners such as sucralose or aspartame aren't sugars; they're additives, rated in the additive part of the score.
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