Are "0 Sucrose" And "0 Sugar" Really Sugar-free?

Are "0 Sucrose" And "0 Sugar" Really Sugar-free?

Sugar-free" and "0 calorie" have become the keywords that affect young people when they buy food. Various products such as beverages, yogurt, and snacks have appeared on the market, bringing consumers far more than ever before. Choice. But recently, the domestic beverage brand Yuanqi Forest issued an apology statement, stating that the difference between "0 sucrose" and "0 sugar" was not explained in the product labeling and promotion of milk tea products, which could easily lead to misunderstandings. Yuanqi Forest said Recently, the milk tea products have been revised and upgraded, and the packaging has been changed from the original "0 sucrose and low fat" to "low sugar and low fat". At the same time, Yuanqi Forest reminds: milk tea has milk, so it has sugar.
So what is the difference between "0 sucrose" and "0 sugar"?

"0-sugar" food is relative to conventional sugar-containing food, which means that the amount of monosaccharides such as glucose, fructose, galactose, sucrose, lactose, and maltose is very low. According to my country's "General Rules for Nutrition Labeling of Prepackaged Foods", if the sugar content in food is less than 0.5g/100g (solid) or 100mL (liquid), it can be marked as "sugar-free food". The sweetness of sugar-free foods comes from sweeteners, such as sugar alcohols, including xylitol, sorbitol, maltitol, and mannitol. They produce less energy, don't need insulin for their metabolism, and are safe when used sensibly according to standard guidelines.

"0 sucrose" foods refer to foods that are not added with sucrose as a sweetener during processing, but this does not mean that such foods do not contain glucose, maltose, starch and other sugars. Since sucrose will raise blood sugar, manufacturers do not add sucrose, but in order to increase the taste of food, they often add other sweet substances, such as natural sweeteners (maltose syrup, glucose, etc.), or Synthetic sweeteners (acesulfame potassium, aspartame, etc.). These sucrose-free foods containing maltose or glucose are more likely to cause blood sugar fluctuations because they are easier to digest and absorb than sucrose.

Therefore, "0 sucrose" is basically a marketing tool for merchants. If you are middle-aged and elderly people, diabetics, and obese people who want to choose sugar-free products, they must check the ingredient list and whether other sugars are added.
Back to blog

Leave a comment