A coalition of public health organizations and agencies has written a letter to ask the FDA to require that food labels list added sugars. The letter was written to FDA Commissioner Margaret Hamburg.
The organizations, which include the Environmental Working Group, American Heart Association, Center for Science in the Public Interest, and Defeat Diabetes Foundation, want consumers to be fully informed about the amount of sugar found in processed foods.
The letter states,
“While current regulations stipulate what foods can be labeled “No Sugar Added” or use a similar phrase, there is currently no requirement that added sugars be shown separately on the ingredients list. We recommend that FDA require that added sugars be listed on the ingredients section of food labels so that consumers can make healthier choices when they shop.
Many in the sugar and food industry like to encourage personal responsibility over government regulation of food and ingredients. Without specific information on the amount of ‘added sugars’ on the labels of food products, consumers can hardly exercise that responsibility and make smarter choices in the grocery aisle.”
Earlier this month, Rep. Rose DeLauro (D-CT) called on the FDA to improve food labeling requirements for sugar and sugar ingredients. At this time, added sugar is listed by its technical name, such as dextrose or glucose. The average consumer may not understand that those terms mean “sugar”.
Since ingredients on a food label are listed in order of weight, starting with the highest first, a product that is made up of several different types of sugars could actually have more total sugar than any other ingredient. If the sugars are far down on the ingredient list, it may seem like there isn’t much sugar in that product. And the consumer may not understand that, because the sugars are listed individually.
Rep. DeLauro’s letter to the FDA stated, in part:
“The amount of added sugars to foods must be clearly identified in the nutrition and ingredients sections of food labels to allow Americans to make informed dietary choices. To clearly identify them, I believe the term ‘added sugars’ should be listed as a single food ingredient with a corresponding parenthetical list of the specific sugars added.”
The American Heart Association has found that the average American daily intake of added sugars is 22.2 teaspoons, more than 7 tablespoons (almost half a cup!), or about 355 calories. That agency’s daily recommended limit for added sugar is 6 teaspoons or 2 tablespoons per day.
Other organizations that signed the letter include American Association for Health Education, Corporate Accountability International, American Association for Health Education, National Association of School, Nurses Young People’s Healthy Heart at Mercy Hospital, Indiana Rural Health Association, American Society of Bariatric Physicians, The FGE Food & Nutrition Team, Cambridge/Somerville WIC, and Iowa Public Health Association.
