The Nutrition Facts label shows Total Sugars, and under it "Includes X g Added Sugars": the sugars added while making the food, or sold as sugar. That covers table sugar, brown sugar, syrups and honey, and juice concentrates beyond what plain juice would have. It doesn't cover the sugar already in fruit, milk or plain juice, and it doesn't cover juice concentrate making up the fruit component of a standardized jam or of a fruit spread. Added sugars are declared to the nearest gram, with a % Daily Value against 50 grams. Under 1 gram a serving, with no claims about sugar, the line can go and "Not a significant source of added sugars" goes at the bottom instead. Where sugars ferment or brown in the making, the maker keeps records to back the number. In the example below, a Colorado granola maker works out four labels.
The short version
- Added sugars: sugar, syrups, honey and extra juice concentrate added in the making.
- Not added: the sugar already in fruit, milk or plain juice.
- Not added: juice concentrate in the fruit part of jam or a fruit spread.
- Declare to the nearest gram, with a %DV against 50 grams.
- Under 1 gram, no sugar claims: "Not a significant source of added sugars."
- Keep records when sugars ferment or brown in the making.
- TaroStack keeps each recipe by weight, so the sugars in a batch are on record. More below.
What counts
| Ingredient | Added sugars? |
|---|---|
| Cane sugar, brown sugar | Yes |
| Honey, maple syrup, agave, brown rice syrup | Yes |
| Sugar in chocolate chips or sweetened dried fruit | Yes: the sugar added to them |
| Juice concentrate beyond what plain juice would contain | Yes |
| Juice concentrate as the fruit part of a standard jam or a fruit spread | No |
| Fresh, frozen or dried fruit with nothing added; milk; plain juice | No |
A "no added sugar" claim has its own conditions, in no added sugar label, and "low sugar" can't be used at all, in low sugar claim.
The rules
| Rule | Where |
|---|---|
| What counts | Sugars added in processing or packaged as such, including syrups, honey and concentrated juice beyond 100% juice; not the fruit component of standardized jams or fruit spreads (21 CFR 101.9(c)(6)(iii)) |
| How to declare it | "Includes X g Added Sugars" under Total Sugars, to the nearest gram; less than 0.5 g may be zero; less than 1 g may say "less than 1 gram" (101.9(c)(6)(iii)) |
| When it can be left off | Under 1 gram a serving with no claims about sweeteners or sugars; then "Not a significant source of added sugars" at the bottom (101.9(c)(6)(iii)) |
| The Daily Value | 50 grams for adults and children 4 and older (101.9(c)(9)) |
| Records | Kept to verify the declared amount when added sugars ferment or brown, or mix with naturally occurring sugars (101.9(c)(6)(iii), (g)(10)) |
This is general information, not legal advice.
An example: four granola labels
Summit Ridge Snacks, the made-up granola and snack bar maker in Boulder, Colorado, I use in these examples, sells nationally and isn't exempt from nutrition labeling. Per 60-gram serving:
| Product | Sweetened with | Total sugars | Added sugars | On the label |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Honey almond granola | Honey and brown sugar | 11 g | 10 g | Total Sugars 11g; Includes 10g Added Sugars, 20% |
| Dark chocolate granola | Brown sugar; sugar in the chocolate | 12 g | 11 g | Includes 11g Added Sugars, 22% |
| Cranberry granola | Maple syrup; sugar infused into the cranberries | 13 g | 10 g | Includes 10g Added Sugars, 20% |
| Raisin muesli, unsweetened | Nothing; raisins only | 9 g | 0 g | Total Sugars 9g; Includes 0g Added Sugars |
The muesli's 9 grams are the raisins' own sugar, so its added sugars are zero; the label could leave the line off and say "Not a significant source of added sugars", but the company declares the zero, which customers look for. The cranberry granola counts the sugar the dried cranberries were infused with, but not the cranberries' own. How the whole label is laid out is in how to make a nutrition label.
Get the checker
Download the added sugars checker. One sheet: each product, its total and added sugars per serving from your recipe or lab, and whether it makes a sugar claim; the label lines and %DV fill in. It's an ordinary Excel file with no macros, and it works in Google Sheets, LibreOffice and Numbers.
Where this stops working
The checker rounds the numbers. The numbers themselves come from the recipe, and a batch made with more honey than the recipe says is a label that's wrong.
How TaroStack does it
TaroStack keeps each granola as a recipe by weight, so the ingredients behind its label are on record for every batch.
Recipes by weight. Each granola is a recipe by weight: oats, almonds, honey, brown sugar, oil.
Batches from the recipe. Each batch records the recipe it followed and the ingredient lots it used.
Recalls. If a batch went out with the wrong label, one report shows every customer who got it.
| The job | Notebook | In TaroStack |
|---|---|---|
| Which recipe a batch followed | Remembered | Each batch from its recipe |
| A recipe change that alters the label | Noticed late | The recipe on record |
| Who got a mislabeled batch | Invoices | One recall report |
Recipes, batches and recalls are on every plan, from $49 a month. The first 30 days are free, with no credit card. If you'd like a hand setting up, ask, and we'll do it with you.