Nutrition Labels Leave Consumers Confused About Sugar Levels (2024)

FAQs

Nutrition Labels Leave Consumers Confused About Sugar Levels? ›

Participants from the focus groups reported being confused about the meaning of “sugar” and “added sugar” on food labels and indicated that more interpretive labels, such as the FoP warnings, would help them choose products with low sugar content.

In our study, 57.7% consumers “don't understand” the food labels, whereas 39.7% “partially understand” the food labels information.

There is no Daily Value* for total sugars because no recommendation has been made for the total amount to eat in a day.

Labels for foods and beverages with added sugars list the number of grams and the percent Daily Value (%DV) for added sugars within the Nutrition Facts label. Having the word “includes” before added sugars on the label indicates that added sugars are included in the number of grams of total sugars in the product.

Nutrition labels can be inaccurate by up to 20% when it comes to listing calories, according to the FDA. This can be frustrating, but experts say it probably won't ruin an otherwise healthy diet. Sticking to whole, unprocessed foods can be a helpful strategy to avoid surprise calories in processed foods.

For example, one serving may be half a can of soda, a quarter of a cookie, half a chocolate bar, or a single biscuit. In doing so, manufacturers try to deceive consumers into thinking that the food has fewer calories and less sugar.

Note that Trans fat and Total Sugars do not list a %DV on the Nutrition Facts label. Protein only lists a %DV in specific situations listed below. Trans Fat: Experts could not provide a reference value for trans fat nor any other information that FDA believes is sufficient to establish a Daily Value.

The Dietary Guidelines suggest a target intake of added sugars of up to 10% of total calories. This recommendation is intended to help individuals construct a balanced diet that does not exceed their calorie needs and, it should be noted that, this target is not based on adverse health outcomes.

The nutrition facts label is required to inform you how much sugar is in a food. However, the label does not separate the amounts of naturally occurring sugar from added sugar, Gager explains. Sugar is found naturally in many nutritious foods, such as fruits and vegetables.

% Daily Value (DV) can help you. figure out if a food is HIGH or. LOW in a nutrient, Use the 5-20 Rule. If the % DV is 5 or less then it is low in that nutrient, If the% DV is 20% or more then it is high in that nutrient.

Why is the food label a lie? ›

Can you trust the information on a food label? Not entirely. The food labeling regulations from the FDA allow for a 20% margin of error. For anything that says there is a certain amount of carbs, calories, or sugars in it, there could be up to 20% more.

The FDA allows up to 20% difference between what's on the nutrition label and what's accurate. Yes, you read that correctly. The nutrition labels are not required to be accurate. And the rules change based on the type of nutrients.

Nearly 4 out of 5 adults aged 20 and older reported they regularly used the Nutrition Facts panel when deciding to buy a food product during the most recent wave of the Flexible Consumer Behavior Survey (FCBS), from 2017 to March 2020.

Research by Jareb Gleckel in the Journal of Animal and Environmental Law indicates that consumers are not confused about terms historically associated with meat products when used for plant-based alternatives. In fact, this confusion is reduced.

Lack of knowledge, time constraints, and small font sizes were the reported barriers to the use of nutrition labels. The food choices of the majority of consumers who use nutrition labels are not necessarily influenced by the information on the labels.

Such labeling may help consumers make food selections that better reflect their preferences or encourage them to choose more nutritious foods.