"Sucrose-free" does not equal 100% sugar-free

Be wary of some businesses using "sugar-free" as a marketing gimmick to trigger excessive consumption of sugary foods

Consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages is considered to be one of
the biggest behavioural risk factors for death.
Recently, a research paper published in the European Journal of Public Health by Zhou Maigeng and others of the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention shows that the burden of disease caused by the intake of sugary drinks in China has increased
significantly.
When people generally pay attention to the sugar content of beverages and foods, some businesses mislead consumers with the concept of "sucrose-free", the actual situation is that "sucrose-free" does not mean "sugar-free", which may also trigger consumers to relax their vigilance and consume sugary foods
more excessively.

survey

Internet celebrity yogurt, beverage label "sucrose-free"

The merchant declined to explain whether it contained sugar

The so-called sugar, because it is composed of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen, is similar to the polymerization of "carbon" and "water" in the chemical formula, so it is also called carbohydrate.

Sugary drinks are defined as beverages that artificially add sugar (any form of sugar, such as brown sugar, corn sugar, corn syrup, fructose, glucose, etc.
) during the manufacturing process and contain more than 5% sugar
.
Common sugary drinks on the market include carbonated drinks, fruit juices, sports drinks, energy drinks, sweetened coffee or milk tea, and so on
.
According to GB28050-2011 national food safety standard "General Rules for Nutrition Labeling of Prepackaged Food", "sugar-free or sugar-free" means that the sugar content per 100 grams or 100 ml of solid or liquid food is not higher than 0.
5 grams
.

In recent years, when people generally pay attention to the sugar content of beverages and foods, some businesses mislead consumers with the concept of "sucrose-free", the actual situation is that "sucrose-free" does not equal "sugar-free", and "sugar-free" is not necessarily really sugar-free
.
This may also trigger consumers to relax their vigilance and overconsume sugary drinks
.

Ms.
Meng told the Beijing Youth Daily reporter that the children in the family are in the fifth grade of primary school, and she pays special attention to the sugar content
of the ingredients on the package when shopping for yogurt and drinks on weekdays.
Seeing an Internet celebrity drink labeled "sucrose-free" on a certain platform, although the price is two or three times more expensive than ordinary drinks, she still placed an order to buy a few boxes
because of the Internet celebrity recommendation, high nutritional value and no sugar.
The child likes to drink so much that she keeps placing orders and buying
.
As a result, in just a few weeks, the child gained significantly more weight
.
Until she found that the "sucrose-free" drink does not contain sucrose, but adds fructose syrup, which attracts children to drink, is not as "zero"
sugar content as imagined.

The Beiqing Daily reporter asked the merchant, "Does this sucrose-free product contain other sugar?" After that, the merchant's customer service replied: "This is not sure, it is recommended to collect it before buying
.
" On the homepage, the reporter of the Bei Qing Daily found a screenshot of the ingredient list of the product, clearly written "yogurt that fights sugar and fat", and the ingredient list shows that the carbohydrate content of the product is 4.
5%, although it is lower than the general product, but it is not sugar-free
.

expert

"0 sucrose" "no sucrose" does not equal "sugar-free"

"Sugar-free" is also not 100% sugar-free

"Sugar-free" is also not really 100% sugar-free
.
Taking a zongzi product sold online as an example of "0 sucrose", some consumers see this label to understand that this product does not contain sugar, and there is no psychological burden
when eating happily.
In fact, the main raw material for making zongzi is glutinous rice, and the sugar content of 100 grams of glutinous rice reaches 15%.

Glutinous rice is also rich in starch, which will be converted into sugar after entering the human body, and the glycemic index is also very high
.

Li Yanju and Zhou Linhua, dietitians of the clinical nutrition department of West China Hospital, wrote that the so-called "sugar-free" is not as perfect as ordinary people think, for example, sugar-free drinks and sugar-free foods are not 100% sugar-free, and drinking more and eating more may gain weight
.
If you see the words sugar-free, low-sugar, and sucrose-free on the outer packaging of drinks or food, according to the GB28050-2011 standard, they are these meanings - sugar content≤0.
5g/100ml, can be called sugar-free; Sugar content ≤ 5g/100ml, which can be called low sugar
.

In particular, it should be pointed out that no sucrose refers to the absence of additional sucrose, such as white sugar, brown sugar, etc
.
Fan Zhihong, associate professor of the Department of Nutrition and Food Safety of the College of Food Science of China Agricultural University and doctor of food science, pointed out on social media: "The trouble with sweet drinks is that people unconsciously drink a lot of sugar (or various syrups).

The change in sugar use in recent years is particularly worrisome, as beverages, sweets, pastries, and even so-called healthy foods like to sweeten with fructose or fructose syrup
.
Why? One is that they are sweeter, and the other is that they can be labeled 'sucrose-free'
.
”

In particular, it should be noted that "sucrose-free" does not mean "sugar-free", and the behavior of merchants to steal concepts should be criticized
.
Guo Xiaohui, chief physician of the Department of Endocrinology of Peking University First Hospital, believes that China's sugar control work should take comprehensive measures, including food nutrition labels to clearly indicate the types and contents of various sugars, such as sucrose, glucose, or fructose, and how many grams it contains, rather than just vaguely marking
in the ingredient list.
The sweetener composition and content of sugar-free beverages should also be clearly
labeled.

concern

Xylitol and other sugar substitutes "sugar-free" foods

The sugar content of the ingredients themselves cannot be ignored

In fact, in addition to some "sucrose-free" foods and beverages, there is also a class of "sugar substitute" foods and beverages that have also attracted much attention
.
There are some "sugar-free" foods on the market that target special groups such as diabetics, and products
that use xylitol and the like as sweeteners.
Relevant medical people pointed out that this kind of "sugar-free food" refers to added sugar, but it is not really sugar-free
.

Xylitol is a five-carbon sugar that can replenish energy and improve sugar metabolism
.
Metabolism in the body does not depend on insulin and does not increase blood glucose concentrations
.
If xylitol is added to foods such as biscuits and pastries to make "sugar-free food", it is still necessary to be vigilant
.
Because pastries, biscuits and other foods themselves contain a lot of starch, oil, glycemic index will be high, not recommended for diabetics to eat
a lot.
Text / This newspaper reporter Lin Lishuang

correlation

Excessive consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages can increase the burden of disease

According to data from the National Bureau of Statistics, China's beverage sales volume increased from 97.
91 million tons in 2010 to 171.
65 million tons
in 2019.

Researchers say excessive intake of sugar-sweetened beverages is an important health hazard and is as harmful
as high BMI (body mass index), high blood pressure, red meat intake, alcohol consumption and smoking.
With the development of economy and society, the diet of Chinese is gradually changing, from the traditional diet to reducing grain intake, high oil, high salt and sugar, high meat, etc
.

Based on the findings, the researchers suggest that attention should be paid to the excessive intake of
sugary beverages in Chinese groups.
According to the "Dietary Guidelines for Chinese Residents (2022)", control the intake of added sugars, no more than 50 grams per day, and it is best to control it below
25 grams.